Darkness
by Hitokiri Hobbit
Summary: Takes place during Sailor Moon R, right after the Doom Tree crisis and right before Rini falls out of the sky onto Serena’s head. A kind of throwback to Silver Millenium. Yami Hikari OC stumbles into the picture, closely followed by an original villain.
1. Prologue: Immediately There Fell

**AN: I wrote this as a junior in high school and arbitrarily decided to post it now. Sorry about the dub names--at that time I was more familiar with them, though I actually saw very little of the dubs in the process of watching the series in its entirety. Nothing canon has been altered in the writing of this fic.**

Prologue: Immediately There Fell

"And thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season." And immediately there fell… a mist and a darkness….

- Acts 13:11

Yami awoke with a jolt to a stabbing pain in her forehead. It was gone as quickly as it had come, but it left her gasping for breath. She suddenly realized how cold she felt and began shivering. The darkness surrounded her. She had no idea where she was, aware that the hard, damp pavement below her was nothing like the texture of her bed at home.

The cold slowly began to seep into the teenager's bones, and she sat up, curling into a ball to keep warm, trying to still her chattering teeth. Her hands rubbed up and down her arms, creating friction to drive away the cold. Suddenly, she stopped the motion as she realized that her arms were bare. Raising her hands to her shoulders, she found that they too were without covering. She realized then that she was totally naked. How was it, she wondered, that she had ended up out on a lonely street in the middle of the night with no clothing whatsoever? The answer eluded her. In fact, all answers seemed to elude her at the moment. She could not even remember what had happened that day, where she had been when she'd fallen asleep, or when the last time she _had_ known where she was had been. All seemed to be a blur, and she could only recall basic things such as her name, her parents' names, and where she lived.

Yami's teeth chattered again as she shuddered violently, whether from fear or cold she did not know. Despite the cold, she could feel sweat moistening her skin. She ran a hand through her short, ragged, sandy-colored hair. It was nearly soaked. Her bangs clung to her forehead. The dampness of her skin made the biting cold even worse, and Yami found that she could not stop shivering, no matter how hard she tried.

Whimpering softly from fear and confusion and also loneliness, the girl found a wall and curled up against it, drawing her knees up to her chest and burying her face in her arms. Tears began to force themselves free of her eyes, and she prayed that she might somehow wake up and be warm and safe in her bed.


	2. Chapter 1: Fairy Tale Girl

Chapter 1: Fairy Tale Girl

The alleyway was no more than ten feet wide, and the buildings were tall enough to prevent any sunlight from filtering down into it. The shadows were sufficient to hide the girl from the view of any passersby, though she could see them.

The day had brought with it warmth, and for that Yami was grateful. Still with no answers and no clothes, she drew comfort from the fact that she was no longer cold. She sat with her back against the wall not five feet away from the mouth of the alley, listening and sometimes watching people go by, oblivious to her presence. While the darkness cloaked her, she could see everything outside the alley clearly in the sunlight.

People on the sidewalks completely ignored the darkened alleyway. Yami did not blame them. Had it not been her haven, her isolation from them, she would have avoided it too. But she found that the prospect of emerging into the light terrified her. Whether it was completely out of personal modesty, obviously shying away from the idea of walking the streets without the smallest scrap of clothing, or if it was something else that made her fear the utterly unthreatening citizens of Tokyo, she did not know, nor did she particularly care. She knew that she did not want to leave the safety of the cloak of shadow, so she simply did not. She did nothing but sit and listen to the life going on only feet away from her.

Yami jumped as two people suddenly collided just beyond the mouth of her alley. Had it not been for her surprise, she would have found the sight incredibly funny. One of the people now on the ground was a young man with ebony black hair. He looked to be about twenty or so. The other was a teenage girl. The girl seemed to be slower in recovering her senses, rubbing her head and muttering to herself. Yami found the teenager's hairstyle highly amusing — her long blond hair was pulled up into two pigtails long enough to trail the ground, both flowing from two little balls on top of her head.

"Hey, Meatball Head. You oughta learn to watch where you're going," the young man said with a smirk.

Meatball Head — it seemed an accurate assessment. Yami could not help but grin.

The girl looked up quickly. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for school again and get detention! Just what I need to make this day worse… I've got a math test today, and we're running laps in P.E. I have to bring clothes to dress out! I hate having to carry an extra bag just so I can participate in stupid gym class, when I'd just as soon not…."

The girl kept rambling, and the young man listened with a small smile, not saying a word throughout the entire little episode. It was then that Yami noticed the bag that the blond girl had dropped just at the edge of the alleyway. Judging by the heavy look of the bookbag on the girl's back, Yami assumed that her schoolwork and books were in that. Which meant that the clothes she was complaining about having to carry to dress out for gym must be in the bag she had dropped. The teenager inched forward, reaching out slowly to close her fingers around the edge of the bag and drag it into the shadows with her. The girl, still going on and on without drawing a single breath, and the young man, seemingly totally absorbed in watching his "Meatball Head," did not notice the mysterious disappearance of the bag.

Yami withdrew deeper into the alleyway, moving back until she could no longer make out the words the rambling blonde was saying. She watched patiently as the girl suddenly realized how much time she was wasting and that she was going to be even later to school. She quickly said goodbye to the dark-haired man and scurried off. He also continued on his way. Neither seemed to miss the bag that had disappeared into thin air.

Sitting down on the pavement, Yami unzipped the bag and found a pair of gym shorts, a T-shirt, a pair of socks, and tennis shoes. She quickly pulled on the clothes. The shoes were too small, but she did not really mind that — just being clothed made her happy for the time being. Working up the courage to finally leave her hiding place, Yami made her way out into the street, leaving the bag at the mouth of the dark alley. Meatball Head might come back later looking for it.

Not knowing where to go, Yami wandered the streets aimlessly. She knew her home address, but she had no idea which way to go, not knowing where she was. She saw a small child walking down the street, her tiny hand linked with her mother's. The child was licking at a dripping ice cream cone. It was then that the lost teenager realized how hungry she was. Of course, she had no money with her, so with a sigh, she tried to ignore the insistent growling of her stomach.

Finally, the wandering girl decided that she had no choice but to ask for directions. Still, she was nervous about speaking to the people who casually passed her by. She did not know why. It was as if she was completely unused to talking to other human beings at all. With a brief hesitation, she stopped a nice-looking man in a business suit, querying whether or not he knew the way to 4013 Falls Avenue. With a warm smile, he gave her simple but detailed directions. Thanking him, she stared off, her spirits considerably lifted.

Arriving at Falls Avenue, Yami could feel her knees become weak with relief as she saw her house before her. However, rushing up toward the front door, she slowed to a near stop as she realized that she did not recognize the car in the driveway. _Someone must be visiting_, she decided with uncertainty.

Continuing more slowly toward the doorstep, she knocked on the front door. Her unease increased as a strange woman answered it. With a knot her stomach, Yami looked into the smiling woman's face. "Uh, I'm looking for Mitchell and Lori Hikari. Are they at home?"

The woman frowned. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know either of them. Are you sure you have the right house?"

Yami did not answer for several seconds. This was her house. Who was this woman? "S… sorry," she stuttered. "I guess… I'm at the… the wrong place." Turning away, she made her way down the steps and back to the street. Once again wandering aimlessly, she wondered what to do next.

Sighing, the distraught teenager sat down on a curb to think. She felt more utterly lost than she had the night before. Moving back to lean against a wall, she drew up her knees and rested her elbows on them, burying her face in her folded arms. The sun bore down on her arms and neck. She was sure that her skin would be burned later on, but she could not force herself to care. She did not realize how long she'd been sitting there until she heard a familiar chattering.

Looking up in surprise, Yami saw none other than Meatball Head no more than a block down the street and coming her way. Standing up quickly, she watched the girl approach with three friends, all but one in identical school uniforms, walking along right next to her.

"I must've lost my gym bag when I ran into Darien this morning, so I didn't have to run! It's an upside, wouldn't you guys say so?"

Yami did not realize she was directly in the girl's path until it was too late. She tried to move out of the way, but the blonde meatball head tripped over her foot, and both teenagers went tumbling to the ground. Yami noticed that the girl's friends found the accident amusing. Apparently, she collided with people a lot.

Yami scrambled to her feet, backing away slowly. "Sorry, I didn't… mean to… I… I'm sorry," she stuttered.

"Don't worry about it," the brunette accompanying the blonde said. "Serena runs into everyone. It's definitely not your fault."

Standing up, Serena immediately beamed with energy and joy. Yami had never seen such a happy person in her life — at least not that she could recall. "Hi! I'm Serena. These are my friends, Lita, Amy, and Mina. Who are you?"

"Uh, Yami." The quiet teenager was taken a bit by surprise that Serena cared to talk to her. The girl did not seem to notice that Yami was wearing her clothes.

"We're going to the arcade. Wanna come?" the giddy blonde asked. With nothing else to do, Yami decided she might as well take the girl up on her offer. Serena immediately continued her jabbering, never pausing for a breath or to let someone else speak. Yami found this quirk slightly endearing.

Arriving at the arcade, Serena bounced up to the counter. "Hey, Andrew," she greeted the blond man in the apron as he smiled at the girls. "Has Darien been by today?"

"Not yet. But I'd bet he'll be in sometime soon."

"This is my new friend Yami," Serena introduced the quiet teenager trailing in back of the group.

Andrew smiled. "Pleased to meet you." Yami offered only a nod in response. It was then that the young man noticed her bare feet. "We're not allowed to serve people with no shoes," he said with an apologetic expression.

"I could only find one shoe this morning," Yami made up quickly. "I… I figured it'd be stupid to go… with just one." She was sure this was a flimsy excuse and that she would be thrown out in under a minute.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Andrew," Serena said, waving it off. "Can you imagine walking around all day in one shoe?" She giggled.

With a sigh, Andrew shook his head in submission. "All right, whatever."

Again, Yami was surprised, but she said nothing. Serena smiled and moved over to the Sailor V game. Interested, Yami moved to watch over her shoulder. Serena was very good at the game. Apparently, she got a lot of practice. Yami had lost count of the levels the girl had beaten before "Game Over" began flashing on the screen. Serena turned to look at the teenager behind her. "Have you ever played before?"

Yami shook her head. "No."

"Well, why don't you try?" Serena popped in another coin and moved out of the way for Yami to play. "It's fun."

Deciding to try her luck, Yami stepped up to play, but she was little more than halfway through the first level before "Game Over" flashed across the screen. "I guess arcade games aren't my forte."

"That's okay. Try again." Serena put in another coin, and with a smile, Yami proceeded to play. She still did not do well, but she got further than the last time. This seemed to satisfy Serena, for she decided to sponsor another game.

Serena and Yami switched off, each taking turns with the Sailor V game. Both were laughing, oblivious to the rest of the world, when Darien came up behind Serena, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Serena yelped in surprise but quickly melted into his embrace.

Serena introduced Darien to Yami, who recognized him from the collision that morning, though she said nothing of that. He and Serena moved back to the counter, and Yami followed, sitting down between Serena and her blue-haired friend, Amy. When Darien offered to buy them all shakes, the quiet teenager accepted with a smile, though with less energy than Serena and her friends. The chocolate milkshake tasted wonderful, though it seemed only to remind Yami of how hungry she was. Once again ignoring her hunger, she listened silently as Serena, Darien, Andrew, Amy, Lita, and Mina chatted incessantly until she completely lost track of time.

After a while, Darien dismissed himself, having to go to some kind of dinner with some people he worked with, and it was then that the girls became aware of the time. As they all got up to head home, Yami felt a knot tighten in her stomach. She could not go home. She realized once again that she had nowhere to go. Questions began swimming through her mind again. Where were her parents? Who were the strange people in her house? Why was it she had woken up outside in the middle of a street last night?

"Where do you live?" Serena asked cheerily, breaking into Yami's thoughts.

"Uh, Falls Avenue."

"Good. That's the same direction as my place. We can walk together." With a small smile, Yami accompanied the giddy blonde out of the arcade and in the direction of her home. She listened to Serena's constant chattering with half an ear while she wondered what she would do that night once she and her new friend parted ways.

"Isn't this where you turn to get to Falls Avenue?" Serena asked suddenly, once again jolting Yami from her thoughts.

"Uh, y… yeah. You know, why don't I just walk with you to your place? I don't mind going a little farther, and I have nothing else to do."

"Don't you have to be home by a certain time?" the girl asked, continuing on.

"No," Yami replied noncommittally.

"Your parents don't give you a curfew?"

Quickly trying to think up a lie, she found herself saying, "My parents are out of town."

"So you're staying home alone?"

"Something… like that."

"Are you staying at a friend's?"

Yami hesitated. "I don't… have… any friends."

Serena stopped. "No friends at all?"

No faces came to mind, no memory of any acquaintances, though this seemed slightly odd even to her. She shook her head. "No."

"Well, now you have me," Serena said with a grin. "Why don't you stay at my house? My parents won't mind."

Yami paused. "Are you sure?"

"Yup, of course I'm sure."

With a slight smile, she said, "Yeah, I guess that'd be cool."

"I wouldn't want you to go home all alone with no friends to keep you company."

"I… guess not."

Serena paused. Yami realized it was the first time she'd seen the girl look thoughtful since they'd met. "Did you want to stop by your house and get some of your things first?"

"Nah."

"Oh, but don't you at least want to get some pajamas and a change of clothes?"

"Well, uh, you see," — Yami's mind quickly ran through things she could say — "my parents… kind of… forgot to give me the h… house key… before they left. So I can't get into my house."

Serena blinked. "So where were you planning on staying?"

Yami shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, now you're definitely staying with me! I mean, you can't just sleep out on the street all night, can you?"

"I guess not."

"Do you even have any money?"

"No."

"What were you going to do about food?"

"I don't… know."

"And it gets cold at night. How were you going to keep warm in just shorts and a T-shirt when you don't even have any shoes?"

Yami grinned. "Do you ever run out of questions?"

Serena cocked her head. Now it was her turn to say, "I guess not."

Shaking her head with a laugh, Yami continued with: "I don't think you ever run out of things to say."

"Do you think I talk too much?"

"No, not at all. I do better listening. I don't really have much to say."

"Everyone has something to say."

"I guess."

"You just need to learn how to say it."

Yami spared a glance in Serena's direction. "I guess so."

"Here it is!" Her attention abruptly diverted again, Serena bounded up to her front door and waved for her friend to follow. Yami felt that she would never get used to the girl's changing moods. Simple psychology — she knew that the human mind often moved from one thing to another, the thoughts barely connected. But Serena's thoughts seemed to have no connection at all. It was very interesting to her.

As soon as Yami hit the doorstep, Serena was inside, the door hanging open behind her. Yami followed slowly, her eyes nervously flitting around to take in the interior of the house.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" A middle-aged couple emerged from a doorway a few seconds later, and Yami could not help but freeze in fear. But Serena merely smiled. "This is my new friend Yami. Her parents are out of town and forgot to give her a key, so she needs to stay with us, okay?"

Yami was surprised they could keep up with the girl's speech. She was surely having a hard time with it. It seemed that every time Serena opened her mouth, Yami's head was left spinning just trying to sort through the river of words that came spilling out.

After a short pause, Serena's mother nodded. "That's all right, Serena. We're pleased to have you here, Yami."

"Um, thank you, Mrs.…" She glanced nervously at Serena.

The blond meatball head seemed to snap into the realization that she had never told Yami her last name. "Oh! Tsukino. It's Tsukino."

"Uh, thanks, Mrs. Tsukino."

"You're more than welcome. Serena, try not to stay up late tonight. It's a school night. Tomorrow's Friday, and you girls can stay awake as late as you want then."

"Okay, Mom. Don't worry." With a grin, the girl bounced off toward the kitchen for a snack. With a last smile in the direction of Serena's parents, Yami quickly followed, trying to stay close to her new friend — her only friend, it seemed.

"Hungry?" Serena asked, her head hidden by the refrigerator door. "How much have you eaten today?"

"Uh, a chocolate shake."

Serena's head suddenly appeared again, a stunned expression on her face. "You mean that shake that Darien bought you is all you've had? All day _long_?" Yami nodded, and after several long seconds, the cheerful blonde's face once again broke into a grin. "Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"

The girl proceeded to list out all the things they had to snack on. While it all sounded delicious, and Yami was ravenous, she only listened with half an ear, another thing nagging at her mind. "Serena, why… are you so nice to me?"

Serena stopped, looking up at her friend. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you hardly even… know me. We just met… it couldn't have been more than… a few hours ago… and you invited me to stay at your house. You don't even know m… my last name."

"What's your last name?"

"Well… uh, Hikari."

Serena grinned again. "Well, now I do!"

"Yeah, but… I just don't get you. I've never met anyone this nice."

"Never?"

"Usually… when people are that trusting… they just get hurt. Has _no one_ ever betrayed your trust?"

"Oh, sure, Darien, hundreds of times."

Yami could not hide her shock. "Darien?"

"Yeah, he can be really mean sometimes. I used to always hate when he called me Meatball Head…."

"No, I mean really. The world isn't that nice, you know."

Serena cocked her head. "Who told you the world is a bad place?"

"Well, I… I don't know. It… just seems that way to me."

"Why?"

Yami was a bit taken aback. "I don't… know why. Don't you _ever_ run out of questions?"

Serena grinned yet again. "Nope! Now what do you want to eat?" Her head once again disappeared into the fridge, and Yami was once again surprised by the abrupt change in their course of conversation.

"Uh, I don't care. You pick."

Serena mumbled to herself, trying to decide what she wanted to eat.

Yami jumped as she felt something brush up against her leg. She looked down to see a black cat at her feet. "Uh, this your cat?"

Serena peeked over the refrigerator door to look down at Yami's feet. "That's Luna." The cat meowed as it looked up with big red eyes. It was then that Yami noticed the crescent moon on the cat's forehead.

"That's strange…."

"What?"

"Luna… she has a moon-shaped bald spot on her forehead. But I guess that fits her name, doesn't it? I've just never seen a cat with any markings like that."

"Yes! Double Fudge Cookie Dough ice cream!" The blonde quickly emerged from the refrigerator with a box of ice cream in her hands. Yami could not help but grin at the sight of the girl's nose, turned pink from the cold.

Serena ran to get bowls and spoons before sitting down at the table. Yami joined her as she began scooping out ice cream. Pushing the first bowl across the table and handing her friend a spoon, Serena quickly fixed a bowl for herself and started digging in.

Yami rapidly decided that this had to be the best ice cream she had ever eaten if not the best on the face of the planet. She did not realize how fast she was eating until she felt a sharp pain in her head. It faded quickly enough, and she was left rubbing her temple. Serena had stopped eating her ice cream and was staring over at her friend, who was still rubbing her head. Yami offered her a smile. "I guess I was eating a little too fast. Must've gotten brain freeze there."

Serena looked thoughtful — a funny look for her. "Hmm. I never get brain freeze that quickly."

Yami laughed. "Maybe you're immune."

With a shrug, Serena finished cleaning out her bowl. Smacking happily, she smiled at her friend. "You still hungry?"

"Well, um… yeah."

"No problem!" The blonde was up before Yami could blink, digging through her pantry. "Everyone always tells me I'm a bottomless pit. Darien asks me where I put it all."

"You burn it off in ten minutes, the way you run around like the Energizer Bunny."

Serena's face immediately lit up. "I love bunnies! I think they're the best animals in the world. They're so cute and fuzzy!" Yami laughed again. "What?"

Wiping tears from her eyes, the sandy-haired teenager looked up at the confused blonde. "You know, if I had the brain of a supercomputer, I don't think I could keep up with you."

At first, Serena did not know what to make of that comment. After a moment, she shrugged it off, turning back to the idea of food. "What kind of sandwich do you like?"

"Gee, uh, I don't know. I like pretty much everything. Uh, my favorite is probably peanut butter and banana."

"Gotcha! Hey, have you ever tried peanut butter and banana with honey?"

Yami shook her head. "No."

"Well, it's great. You have to try it." Serena quickly fixed up the sandwiches and scurried back to the table. She beamed at her new friend. "You'll love these!"

* * * * *

An hour and a half and a lot of food later, the two girls were upstairs in Serena's room. Luna was curled up at the foot of the bed, watching the pair. "So, what's up with you and Darien? Are you two going out?"

Serena blushed a bit, and her eyes became much more distant. Yami could have sworn she saw the cat smirk, but she forgot about it as Serena began to speak. The blonde sighed in a way that made it seem as if she'd been floating up in the clouds somewhere. "Yami, have you ever been in love?"

The other girl shook her head. "No. What's it like?" She noticed that Luna seemed to become much more attentive, watching Serena with what looked like a small smile, but it was probably just her imagination.

"It's like the feeling you have for your best friend, only a million times better. When I look into his eyes, it's like all the world just disappears, and there's nothing but us. When he's around, everything seems to be okay, no matter how bad my day has been or what's happened." She closed her eyes. "And when he kisses me… I feel like I'm flying. I can't tell whether my heart has stopped or if it's beating a billion times faster. Sometimes I think both… at the same time, even though I know that's impossible. Time disappears completely — I could stay inside his kiss for eternity, and it would feel the same as just one millisecond."

Yami sighed, a sense of longing evident in the sound. "I wonder what it's like to love… or to be loved. It must be absolutely wonderful. Like a dream… or a fairy tale."

Serena laughed. "Actually, the fairy tale would have been my last life."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. So, are you dating a guy?"

"No, I never… had a date in my life. For some reason, it doesn't seem like it was… ever an issue."

"Well, you're pretty enough for any guy. I bet I could get you a date before the week is out!"

Yami looked at Serena incredulously. "Serena, it's Thursday. You'd have two days. I don't think that's gonna happen. Besides, I'm not that good at m… meeting people… as you probably noticed."

"You seemed fine meeting me."

"You're different. You see a person, and you just start talking to them, a big smile on your face, so people just can't help befriending you. I never know what to say."

"Well, you're talking fine now. Apparently you do know what to say."

Yami sighed, shaking her head with a smile. "It's easier to talk once you've made a friend. Now stop asking me questions."

Serena cocked her head, a mischievous smirk on her face. "I never asked you any questions."

Yami opened her mouth to speak but realized that Serena _hadn't_ been asking her questions for once. "Well, stop contradicting everything I say and making me defend myself."

The mischievous grin widened. "Why do you have to defend yourself to a friend?"

"Grr… Stop that!" Serena giggled. Yami sighed and shook her head. "Tell me more about Darien."

"What do you want me to tell you about?"

"I don't know. Just talk."

Serena paused, thinking about what to say to her friend. "Even before I met him, I used to dream about him. In my dream, I'm a princess, and he's a prince."

"The fairy tale," Yami whispered.

"Yeah. When I first met him, I didn't know he was the prince from my dream. But now I know he is — I love him. You know what? He told me that he used to dream about a princess, ever since he was a child, and he knew that the princess was meant to be his true love."

Yami laughed. "You never told me you're a princess. Your Majesty, Meatball Head!"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Darien came up with that stupid nickname. Now it's like a wildfire — it just keeps spreading!"

"I like it. It suits you. Besides, you wouldn't want to be normal, would you? Princesses shouldn't be like everyone else."

"Well, you know all girls dream about being a princess," Serena said, blushing. "I mean, didn't you?"

Yami paused for a moment, thinking back on her childhood dreams. "No… I never did."

"What did you dream about?"

Yami looked away from Serena, thus missing the concerned expression the action drew. "Whenever I went to sleep, I remember feeling as if I were fully conscious somewhere else. I didn't know where I was — it was dark. And I was cold. No matter how warm it was in my house, no matter how many quilts I slept under, I was always cold when I went to sleep. And I… remember pain in my head. There was always a constant throbbing, and then sometimes I would feel a sharp spike right behind my forehead… as if someone had jammed a knife through my skull." Looking up, she forced a small smile. "Not exactly princess dreams."

Luna tilted her head, as if she'd been listening the entire time. Yami gave her another strange look. "That's terrible," Serena whispered. "I mean… you dreamed that _every night_?"

Yami nodded her head. "Yeah." It was Serena's turn to receive the strange look. What did she care about what Yami had dreamed as a child?

Serena sighed sadly. "It must've been awful."

"It's not… that big a deal. They were just dreams."

"Did they feel like dreams when you were dreaming them?"

Yami swallowed. "No."

"See?" There was a brief pause. "When was the last time you dreamt that?"

The sandy-haired teen froze, thinking back to the previous night. "Last night I… I woke up to a pain in my head — like in my dreams. And I… I remember it was_ cold_… it was so cold. I thought maybe I was having the nightmare, but it was real." She stopped, her mind twisting in confusion.

"It was just like your dream?" The question was barely loud enough to hear. Yami shook her head.

"No. There was no constant, dull pain inside of my head like before — just the one spike for a few seconds. And the setting was different. I knew I was lost, but I also knew it… wasn't the same place as in the nightmare. It's almost as if that place — wherever I am when I'm in the dream — is intangible… or maybe it doesn't exist. Like there is no way to get there from our world." She paused. "Why are you asking me these things?"

"I don't know…" Serena shrugged slowly, averting her eyes. "It just seems… sad."

"They're just dreams."

"Not last night."

There was a pause. "T… tell me about your friends," Yami said after a moment, changing the subject.

"Well, you met most of them today. There's Darien, of course. You already know about him." Serena giggled. "Then there's Andrew. He's the blond guy who works at the arcade. You know, I used to have a crush on him, and then I found out he has a girlfriend. That was before I knew I was in love with Darien. Mina, Amy, and Lita all go to my school. Amy is way smart. She has like ninety-eight percent in all her classes. She's just like Velma in Scooby Doo. Mina is kinda like me — neither of us do too well in school. Darien always used to make fun of my grades. But Mina is really great at playing matchmaker. Lita is probably the best cook I've ever met in my life. Her parents died in a plane crash, so she lives alone now. She used to be in a gang but got out of that kind of thing when she met me and the others. Raye — you didn't meet Raye — helps her grandfather run the Hikawa Shrine. They live there with this guy named Chad. He's totally in love with Raye. And of course there's Molly and Melvin — we've been friends since elementary school." Serena paused for a moment, her expression thoughtful, making sure she had not left anyone out. "That pretty much sums it all up. Oh!" Yami jumped at her sudden outburst. Serena grinned. "And then there's you. You lose your shoes and have to walk around barefoot and get ice cream headaches and don't talk a lot until you're comfortable with people. And you don't date much, though we're going to fix that before Sunday. Maybe I can get Mina to help me with that…."

Yami laughed. "Don't worry about that. I don't really need a date right now. It'd probably just be a distraction, you know?"

"No. A distraction from what?"

After pausing, Yami replied slowly, "I need… to figure out a few things in my life right now, that's all. Don't really need a love life to make me more confused. Do you understand?"

Serena cocked her head. "I suppose so. Dating is kind of like a roller coaster. I remember being thrown all over the place before I finally figured out I'm madly in love with Darien — and let me tell you, figuring that out was _very_ confusing."

Yami laughed. "I'll bet."

Serena sighed dreamily. "But it was worth it."

"Not everyone is that lucky, though, you know. There are people out there who never find their true love."

"But you don't know until you try."

"I guess. But you have to have the mental constitution to try, am I right?"

"Yes, I suppose so. But you do."

"Maybe not. Either way, I don't see any direction to dating right now. I don't know — maybe direction is all I'm looking for."

"That's kind of what Lita was saying when she stopped getting involved in street fights and stuff. Said she wasn't going to get anywhere hanging out in gangs all the time."

"I suppose that's a good point. But it doesn't always take bad choices to prevent you from getting anywhere. It just takes not knowing which way to go or even which way is up."

Serena sighed. "Yeah, I feel like that sometimes. I have no idea if my life has any direction."

"No way, Serena! You know exactly where you're going! You… you understand the beauty of life, a thing I can't even see most of the time. You know how to relate to people. You've got good friends you can always depend on, and you know they'll always point you the right way if you get lost for a second. You know _who you are_."

There was something heavy behind Serena's eyes, as if she carried a burden that Yami could not see. "What if sometimes I'm afraid of who I am?"

"Fear can be overcome. Whoever you are and will be, it is something great. You don't have any reason to fear, but I know that fear and reason have absolutely nothing to do with each other. You don't have to be devoid of fear, Serena. Just trust in yourself. Have faith; have courage. When destiny comes to face you down, you will stand up to it, and you will break through to the other side. Because I know _you_ will pull through. I've never met anyone in my life who… who I knew would win against life and death. But you will."

Serena stared at her new friend. For a long time, neither said anything. Finally, the blonde whispered, "How do you know that?"

"I don't know how…. I just know."

"Well, that's not vague at all." Both girls erupted into a fit of laughter. Out of the corner of her eye, Yami thought she saw Luna roll her eyes. She did not know why she had such a funny feeling about that cat.

"How did you find Luna?" Yami asked curiously, though she was sure the reply would not put an end to her wonders or answer any questions.

"I rescued her when some mean kids were picking on her."

"And you took her in?"

"Well, actually, I ran off to school, 'cause I was late, as usual. But then she came back and found me."

Yami eyed Luna carefully. "Smart cat," she said simply.

Serena grinned and stroked the cat's silky black fur. "Yes, very smart cat." Yami thought she heard something secretive behind Serena's tone, but she did not push the matter any further. After all, Luna was just a cat, no matter if there was something… peculiar about her.

"I guess we oughta go to sleep now," Serena said, looking at her clock. "I have school tomorrow. Where do you go to school?"

The question caught Yami off guard, though she knew it really should not have. The truth was she somehow could not think of where she went to school. All the flaws she had found in her memory in the past twenty-four hours were really starting to bother her. "I… I don't," she stuttered, though she knew that answer could not be right. She had to go to school, even if she could not remember going, not once in her lifetime. How could she have not gone to school? It was all very, very strange.

Serena cocked her head. "Does your mom home-school you or something?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Oh, then I guess you don't have to worry about getting up in the morning, do you?"

"I guess not." _I'd rather get up early if it would help me figure out what the hell is going on._

"Well, time to get some sleep, anyway. You're probably tired, aren't you? Walking around all day… couldn't even get into your house!"

"Yup." Luna cocked her head, seeming to scrutinize Yami. The teen tried to ignore her, but it was becoming harder to shake the funny feeling that cat gave her.

"Come on. The bed's plenty big enough for both of us." Brushing off all thoughts of Serena's weird cat and her own screwed up life, Yami climbed into the comfortable bed next to her new friend. The girl had been right — she was exhausted, though she thought it was more from the mental stress and dread than any physical exertions. Falling quickly into a deep slumber, she found no dreams, for the one time she could remember in all her life, behind the wall of unconsciousness.

When she was absolutely positive that Yami was asleep, Luna padded over to Serena and sat down on the girl's pillow. "Serena? Serena, I know you're not asleep yet."

With a yawn, the girl looked irritably up at her cat. "What is it, Luna?"

"How exactly did you meet your new friend?" the cat asked, her tail swishing back and forth a bit tensely behind her. Her face showed worry of some sort, but Serena could not think what for.

"I ran into her on the sidewalk. That's not so strange for me."

"And you thought you'd invite a complete stranger to stay in your home? Serena, I thought I'd taught you better than this."

"Yami's not a complete stranger. She's my friend. Besides, her parents went out of town and forgot to give her a key. What was I supposed to do? Let her stay out on the street for however long they're gone? Just stay out there and starve or freeze?"

Luna sighed. She apparently understood Serena's point of view, but that did not erase her concern. "There's something strange about your friend, Serena. I can't quite put my paw on it, but I know something is out of place here."

Serena yawned, obviously not overly concerned. "Like what?"

"What do you mean 'like what?' For example, what kind of parents would go off on a trip and not leave their teenage daughter a key to the house?"

"The forgetful kind?"

"No, Serena. Parents don't forget things like that. You'll understand one day when you are one. And that's not all. Have you noticed how much the girl stutters when she speaks? Particularly when you ask her questions about herself?"

"She's just a little unsure, that's all. She told me she's never had any friends. She's probably not used to talking to people."

Luna sighed again. "Serena, you know I love what a caring person you are, but you can be far too trusting at times. There is more to your friend Yami than meets the eye. Just what that 'more' is, I'm not sure."

Serena yawned again. "Well, when you figure it out, let me know. Goodnight, Luna."

With a shake of her head, Luna dropped the matter. It was obvious that Serena was not listening to her, and she would get nowhere if she did not find something more solid to base her suspicions on. That would have to wait until tomorrow, she decided with one last sigh before curling up to go to sleep. "Goodnight, Serena," she whispered just before drifting off into her own dreamworld.


	3. Chapter 2: Home Again, Home Again

Chapter 2: Home Again, Home Again, to Go to Rest

Yami jerked awake and frantically looked around. She quickly remembered where she was and relaxed. With a groan, she raised a hand to rub her forehead.

"Good morning," chimed Serena's cheerful voice. "I was trying to be quiet so I wouldn't wake you, but since you're up anyway, I guess I don't have to worry about it." She giggled, and Yami could not help but smile. "Did you sleep well?"

Yami nodded as she sat up and stretched. "Yeah, I did."

"No dreams?"

With a smile, she shook her head. "No dreams."

"Well," Serena quickly moved on to another subject as she continued getting around for school, "since you don't have any clothes aside from the ones you're wearing," — _which are yours, anyway_, Yami thought to herself — "you can borrow some of mine until we have a chance to go shopping. I'm thinking mall trip on Saturday. Sound good?"

Yami shrugged. "Fine with me. You've already been nice enough. Anyone else would've left me on the street all night."

Serena set her jaw. "Well, I don't plan on leaving you on the street any night. You can stay here until your parents get back. By the way, when are your parents coming back?"

Yami had never thought of that before. She had no idea where her parents were or when they would come back… _if_ they were coming back. Then again, there were few things she did have any idea of. "Uh, I don't know exactly. They were going on a business trip, and it all depends on how well things go."

"Hmm. Well, you can stay here, anyway. My parents won't mind. I mean, if they can put up with Sammy twenty-four seven, then you certainly won't be a problem."

"Is Sammy your brother?"

"Yep. I guess you haven't met him yet, huh? Don't worry — you will soon enough. Then you'll wish you could go back to having never met him."

Yami laughed. There was a tap on the door before Serena's mother poked her head into the room. "Serena, you'll need to come down soon if you want breakfast, or you're going to be late for school. Good morning, Yami. How did you sleep last night?"

"Very well, Mrs. Tsukino. Thank you."

"Well, I'll see you girls at breakfast." With that, Mrs. Tsukino was gone, and Yami and Serena were alone again. Even Luna had disappeared.

"Here." Serena tossed Yami a pair of blue jeans. "These look like your size. Ooh, this top would look great on you!"

"Uh, thanks." Grabbing her school uniform, Serena scurried off to the bathroom, leaving Yami to change.

* * * * *

When Yami got downstairs, she found that Serena had not come down yet. The rest of the Tsukinos were gathered around the table. A young boy was playing with his Cheerios, trying to balance them on the back of his spoon. Yami guessed he must be Sammy. Mr. Tsukino was sitting at the table, sipping his coffee and reading yesterday's newspaper. Mrs. Tsukino was fixing herself a cup of coffee and scolding Sammy for playing with his food.

Yami had frozen at the door, staring at the family of her only friend, people she had barely met but who cared for Serena — even if Sammy would never admit it. Mrs. Tsukino was the one who finally looked up and smiled. "Yami, come sit down for breakfast. I'm sure my daughter will be down soon."

Before Yami could open her mouth to reply, Serena appeared behind her. "Hey, everyone! What's for breakfast?" She was at the table before Yami could move.

Smiling and running a hand through her short, boyish hair, the teen moved to sit down with Serena's family.

"Where do you go to school, Yami?" Serena's mother asked casually as she sat down with everyone else.

"Yami is home-schooled," Serena answered for her friend. The girl had a knack for speaking before Yami could even compose a thought in her mind — another source of amusement, Yami took note of.

"Well, feel free to stay here during the day, even when Serena's at school."

"Thank you, Mrs. Tsukino."

Just then, Luna padded into the kitchen. She sat down by the door, watching the family calmly like a sentinel. With only a brief glance her way, Yami continued eating her breakfast. She did not notice the careful looks the cat was giving her.

When she had finished her own breakfast, Serena jumped up, grabbing her bookbag, which she had dropped next to her chair. "I have to get to school! I hope I'm not late yet."

Yami stood up as well, sliding her chair in as she picked up her cereal bowl. "I'll walk with you. I have nothing better to do for now." Placing their dishes in the sink, the girls set off for Juuban Middle, walking rather quickly so as not to make Serena late.

As they neared the alleyway in which Yami had awoken the other night and hid for much of the morning, the teenager noticed Serena's bag still sitting on the sidewalk. Serena noticed it a moment later and ran to pick it up. "Look, my gym bag! I lost it yesterday when I ran into Darien. Hmm, that's funny — my clothes are missing, but my tennis shoes are still here." Looking down at Yami's bare feet, she handed one of the shoes to her friend. "Here, why don't you see if these fit?"

Yami already knew they did not — she had tried them on the previous morning, but of course she kept her mouth shut about that. After trying to slip on the shoe and finding that it was still — go figure — too small, she handed it back to Serena, shaking her head. "No, it's too small for me."

"Hmm. I guess we'll just have to get some shoes when we go shopping tomorrow." As they continued on their way, nothing more was said about the gym bag or its contents, either the ones remaining or those that had miraculously disappeared.

Upon reaching Juuban Middle School, Serena said a hurried goodbye and left Yami alone. Briefly wondering what to do next, the teenager decided to head to the arcade where Serena and her friends hung out. At least she could expect to see someone she knew there.

As she entered the arcade, Andrew looked up and smiled, recognizing the girl from the day before. "Lose your shoes again?" he asked with a grin.

"I stayed at Serena's house last night."

"Couldn't've borrowed some of her shoes?"

Yami shook her head. "Her feet are too small."

"I see. So what can I do for ya?"

"I don't have any money," she replied with a slight shrug. "Serena's at school, so I was just looking for some way to pass time."

"Well, I'm not busy right now. How about a game of air hockey?"

Yami shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Andrew inserted a coin to start up the game, and a plastic disc popped out of a slot on his side of the table. "You've played before, right?"

"No."

"Well, just try to get the puck into my goal and keep it out of yours using this thing." He held up his pusher, sliding hers across the table. "It's not too hard once you get the hang of it." Yami nodded. "All right, you ready?" Another nod. He held up the puck. "You wanna start?"

"Sure." Yami took the puck and set it down on the table. With her eyes on the goal slot on the opposite end of the table, she hit the puck with her pusher. It flew to the right, apparently a totally wild shot. But as it bounced back, it headed straight for Andrew's goal, sliding in just at the edge, just missing his pusher.

Andrew stared at Yami in amazement for a moment. "That was a good shot." Setting the puck back on the table, his face hardened in determination. "All right. Now it gets serious."

* * * * *

Yami left the arcade a few hours later when more customers started to come in. Andrew told her to come back around three o'clock to three thirty — that was when Serena and her friends always showed up. As she exited, she noticed a black cat sitting on the sidewalk just outside. With a gold crescent moon on her forehead, the cat was unmistakable.

Bending down, Yami stroked the cat's back. "Hey, Luna. You following me or something?" Of course the cat did not reply — cats could not talk. With a grin and a shake of her head, Yami stood up and continued on her way. The cat followed, padding along behind so innocently. Yami wondered why Luna was following her. She hadn't thought the cat had taken a liking to her or anything. This only reminded her of the strange feeling she got about Luna, but she did not dwell on it. After all, it was only a cat.

Making her way back to Falls Avenue. Yami watched her house from a block down the street. After only twenty minutes, she saw the unfamiliar car pull out of the driveway and turn away from her, driving off down the street. Slowly approaching the house, Yami circled it cautiously. There were no lights on. Apparently, no one was there. Moving around to the back door, she withdrew a paperclip she had found on the sidewalk from her pocket. Carefully folding it and inserting it into the keyhole, she expertly picked the lock. Wait a second… where had she learned how to do that? Brushing off the thought, she entered the house quietly. Looking back, she saw Luna sitting outside, watching her. Leaving the cat behind, Yami pushed the door shut.

Moving through the darkened house, Yami's horror grew by the minute. She did not recognize anything inside her home — the furniture, the toys, the dishes in the sink…. What bothered her most of all, though, were the pictures hanging on the wall. She did not recognize anyone in those pictures. Two days ago, this had been her home. What had happened? And how had it happened so quickly?  
Making her way upstairs, Yami gently pushed open the door to her room. It was obviously no longer her room, though. An unmade bed was pushed up against the wall to her right. _Her_ bed belonged underneath the window on the wall opposite the door. Sports equipment, Game Boy cartridges, action figures, and Spiderman comics littered the floor. A poster featuring a band she'd never heard of hung on the wall over the bed. A photograph of a little boy holding an electric guitar sat on the dresser on the left side of the room. Walking slowly over to it, Yami picked up the picture, staring at it for she could only guess how long. "So," she said softly, "I guess this is your home now." A small tear threatened to push its way out of the corner of her eye, but she insistently repressed it. Forcing herself to set the photograph down, she stepped away from the dresser.

Looking around, Yami moved to the closet, easing the folding doors open. Khaki pants and ragged blue jeans hung from hangars from the top shelf. Baseball caps and toy trucks and starships sat in unorganized heaps on the lower shelves. Dirty tennis shoes were pushed back into one corner, right next to a polished pair of black dress shoes, apparently for Sundays and special occasions. Underneath a mountain of old stuffed animals, toy guns, worn baseball mitts, and a sports jacket, leaned up against a wall and apparently long forgotten judging by the thick layer of dust, something caught Yami's eyes.

Being careful so as not to cause an avalanche, Yami eased out the nearly hidden skateboard. The wheels were just barely worn, so it apparently had only been used a few times. It was a nice board — good bearings, sturdy trucks, two kicktails, strong but flexible deck…. It was a wonder it had never gotten more use.

The underside of the deck portrayed an intricate piece of artwork. An evil sorcerer stood above everything else. The darkness swirled around him, seeming to swallow everything like a black hole. A young man with dirty blond hair and dressed in rags stood below the sorcerer, holding up a glowing sword, which pierced the darkness with its pulsing light. The sorcerer appeared angry at the young man and somehow injured by the light of the sword. Yami marveled at the picture, wondering who could have imagined it and then painted it so vividly, as if there were no denying that it had been real.

Suddenly jolting back into reality, Yami looked at the clock sitting on the boy's dresser. She had been there over an hour. Hurrying back downstairs, she slipped out the back door and pulled it shut behind her. Just as she did so, she heard the car pull back into the driveway. Turning around, she saw Luna sitting right where she'd been an hour before. Ignoring the cat, Yami cut across the backyard of the house next door and then headed for the street. When she was well out of the neighborhood, she stopped and leaned up against a building, her head spinning. She did not know whose home that house was now, but it was obviously no longer hers.

Looking down, Yami saw Luna at her feet. She smiled down at the cat. "You're lucky," she said. "Cats don't have to worry about anything." She could have sworn she saw Luna raise an eyebrow as if in skepticism, but she forgot about that as she realized the skateboard was still gripped firmly in her left hand. _Well, I guess I can't take it back now. Don't think it'll be missed, anyway._

Shrugging, Yami dropped the board down onto the sidewalk. The back wheels clattered on the pavement first. Before the forward wheels had even touched down, the girl had jumped aboard. She glided smoothly down the sidewalk. Turning, she came upon a short staircase. Almost effortlessly, the teen ollied up and landed on the handrail, grinding down the metal bar before sliding off the end and landing gracefully onto the pavement again. Performing a kickflip, she smiled at the comfort of familiarity — a thing she'd lost of late. Briefly, memories flashed in her mind of her father teaching her how to skateboard when she was only a small child. She remembered learning to ollie in the very driveway she'd seen the unfamiliar car in just that day. Quickly, she pushed the memories away, letting her thoughts settle only on the moment.

Finally coming to a stop and stomping the skateboard up into her grasp, Yami looked down. Luna jogged up to sit at her feet. Apparently, the cat had been following her the entire time she'd been skating. _Must've been quite a workout, _she mused. Running a hand through her short, sandy hair, which was nearly soaked with sweat, she released a long sigh. "Ready to go home, Luna? Well, your home, anyway. I apparently don't have a home anymore." The cat tilted her head as if she understood what Yami had said. With a smile down at her little four-legged companion, Yami started off — walking this time so as not to exhaust Luna — toward Serena's home.

* * * * *

Despite Mrs. Tsukino's invitation to hang around the house even when Serena was gone, Yami still felt nervousness twisting in her stomach as she rang the doorbell. But Serena's mother welcomed her in with a smile. The smile made her a bit more comfortable around the woman, though "more comfortable" certainly did not mean comfortable.

Trotting up the stairs to Serena's bedroom with Luna at her heels, the teenager stopped as she heard a loud _thwack_ coming from… it must have been Sammy's room. Easing the door open, she peered inside, where Serena's little brother was busy lining up a dart to throw at a target hung on the wall opposite the door. After carefully taking aim, he threw the dart hard. _Thwack!_ A bit of paint chipped off the wall as the dart hit a good foot and a half away from the target. Yami could not help but giggle.

Sammy turned around to notice his audience and immediately blushed. "I… I don't do as well when people watch."

"I'll bet," the teenager giggled. "Can I try?"

Sammy looked reluctant, but he shrugged and handed her a dart. _She's a girl — how good could she possibly be?_ Yami stepped back a little more than a meter farther from the target than he'd been standing. Carefully aiming, she threw the dart. _Thwack!_ Sammy's jaw dropped. "Bull's-eye!" He ran to the target, carefully looking at the dart protruding from it, blinking to make sure he was seeing clearly. "Perfect shot! How did you do that?"

Yami shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess."

"Luck!" He pulled the dart out and ran back to Yami, handing it to her. Running back to the dartboard, he pointed to a very small section. "This is worth sixty points. See if you can hit it." Stepping out of the way, he watched anxiously as the girl took aim. _Thwack!_ The boy's jaw dropped once again. "Dang!" He yanked the dart out again and ran back to Yami. "Can you teach me?" he asked excitedly.

Taking the boy by the shoulders, she positioned him in front of the target. "Here's a tip: when you throw, step with the opposite foot."

"All right." Sammy aimed carefully and threw. _Thwack!_ Yami winced at the loud noise, much louder than when she'd thrown the dart.

"Already a little better. Don't throw it so hard. You don't have to kill the thing." _Thwack!_ The sound was significantly reduced in volume. "Good."

* * * * *

"I'll tell ya, the girl can aim. Whipped my butt half a dozen times at air hockey! I didn't make a goal!"

"Wow." Serena had to admit she was impressed. "You know, that's kind of weird, 'cause she didn't do well at all in the Sailor V game."

"That's not so weird," Raye said, waving off Serena's comment. "Maybe it's some kind of hand-eye coordination thing that doesn't work with video games."

"Yeah," Lita put in. "Kind of like being able to beat someone up in real life and then totally sucking at Mortal Kombat."

"I guess so." Serena nodded thoughtfully.

"You know what is weird," Andrew said. "She told me she'd never played before in her life. I had to explain the rules before we even started."

"Now that's impressive!" Lita nodded her head in obvious respect of Yami's talent.

Just then, there was a jingling of bells as the door opened, and Yami entered the arcade, her short hair unruly and a skateboard gripped loosely in her left hand. "Hey, Yami!" Serena chimed. "Have a good day? Probably so — you didn't have to take any stupid tests in school. So how was your day?"

"Uh, it was… fine."

"Where'd you get the skateboard?"

"The skateboard?" She hadn't thought of an excuse. Her mind worked frantically. "I… left it sitting in the d… driveway at home. So, uh, I… I didn't need a house key to get it." She smiled nervously. She always wondered if her excuses would work, but Serena seemed to accept them without question. It made her feel even worse for lying.

"Hey, isn't it dangerous to skateboard barefoot?" Lita asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yami grinned. "Not if you don't mess up."

"Oh, hey!" Serena's sudden, highly energetic epiphanies never ceased to make Yami jump. "You haven't met Raye yet. Raye, this is Yami. This is my friend Raye."

Raye nodded. "Pleased to meet you." Yami nodded back nervously, painfully aware of how uncomfortable she was meeting new people.

Serena did not seem to notice Yami's nervousness. She grinned mischievously at her sandy-haired friend before glancing over toward Andrew. "You know, we were just talking about how you pulverized Andrew this morning… at a game you'd never played before."

Yami laughed. "Just lucky, I guess."

"Luck! Hah!" Andrew had to contradict her. "Do you know how many times I've played that game? I hardly ever lose, and _never_ to a rookie. I didn't make one blasted goal!"

Yami shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe my calling is to play professional air hockey." Everyone stared at her for a moment before they all burst out laughing. Before the laughter had ceased, the bells jingled again, and Yami turned to see Darien enter. She immediately heard Serena go silent and could imagine the beaming joy on the girl's face. She could not help but smirk as the dark-haired college student moved to sit down next to his Meatball Head, placing a butterfly kiss on her forehead. Yami noticed the sparkle in Serena's eyes as he pulled away. _The fairy tale,_ she thought with a smile.

As Serena and Darien disappeared into their own world, Yami found herself falling into a kind of isolation in her own mind. Quickly, she shook her head, pushing away the troubling thoughts that so insistently forced their way forward whenever she had a silent moment.

"Hey!" Yami jumped as Serena's friend Lita called upon her attention. The brunette smirked mischievously, and Yami found she rather liked the expression — it seemed one that would be offered a friend. "How about a game of air hockey?"

* * * * *

"So, what did you do all day?" Serena asked innocently as she and Yami trotted side-by-side back to the blonde's home.

Yami shrugged. "Andrew and I played air hockey for a while. I stopped by my house, but… well, you know I didn't have the key or anything. Skated a while, hung out with your brother…"

Serena made a face. "With Sammy? Why would you wanna hang out with him?"

Yami laughed. "I taught him to throw darts. Not to bash him, but he pretty much sucked at it."

"By all means, bash the little monster. He deserves it."

"Come on! He is your brother. It must be nice having a brother." _Must be nice having a _family_._

"Nice! You've obviously never had one."

Yami laughed. "Nope. Only child."

"Lucky you."

The sandy-haired teen shrugged. "I dunno. I'd kind of like having a brother or sister. Having a friend living right there in your house, a friend who you know will never leave you…"

"You can have Sammy. Take him! And don't ever send him back!"

Yami laughed. "Come on. Deep down, you really love your brother."

Serena frowned. "Does that mean I have to like him?"

"No. You don't. Just remember that you love him."

They arrived at Serena's home, and the blonde smiled. "Home again, home again, to go to rest," she recited cheerily. "By hearth and heart, house and nest." Yami's breath caught in her chest. A shadow must have passed across her face, for Serena's smile quickly faded. "What is it?"

"My mother used to say that when I was little," the teen responded. "I remember her teaching it to me almost before I was old enough to talk."

"Well," Serena said happily, "she can recite it again when your parents get home."

Yami swallowed and nodded, forcing a smile. Together, the girls made their way into the house just in time for dinner, to Serena's great delight. After they had eaten, they trotted up the stairs to Serena's bedroom, Luna bounding up step by step after them.

Falling back onto the bed with a sigh — the day had been a trying one, like the one before — Yami did her best to still the swirling of her mind and push away the memories and unwelcome thoughts that made up her confusion. She noticed a book sitting on the floor next to the bed and, interested, picked it up. "_The Iliad_?" The Greek epic did not strike her as something Serena would read.

The blonde wrinkled her nose. "Yeah. We're reading it in school. I personally think that if Mr. Hoover…"

"Homer?"

"Whatever… had a story to tell, he should have just told it like a normal person instead of trying to be all confusing and junk. I can't get through a sentence without having to read it two dozen times to figure out what he's saying!"

Yami could not help but laugh. "It's not _that_ hard."

Serena cocked her head. "Have you read it?" She received a nod in return.

"Yeah. My mother used to read to me from classics before I went to sleep every night."

"She read _The Iliad_ to you when you were a little kid?"

"Yeah."

"How cruel."

Yami laughed again. "No, it's not. I found the stories… intriguing. And truthful."

"What else did she read to you?"

"Oh, I don't know… a lot of stuff. Uh… _Hamlet_, _The Scarlet Letter, Uncle Tom's Cabin,_ _Paradise Lost_,_ The Inferno _— stuff like that."

"Doesn't sound like the most upbeat of selections."

"No, I guess not."

"Didn't you ever read happy things?"

Yami cocked her head. "Like what?"

"Well, gee, there are plenty of sunny-type books out there. Hmm… let's see… _Old Yeller_! It's about a puppy dog, right?"

"He gets rabies in the end, and his owners shoot him."

"Well… how about _Where the Red Fern Grows_? That one's about puppies too."

"Those dogs die."

"_To Kill a Mockingbird_…"

"About societal flaws such as racism. And I wouldn't call anything with 'kill' in the title a sunshine-and-daisies book."

Serena let out a frustrated sigh. "_Romeo and Juliet_."

"Did you even read that one?"

"Yes. My mother read it to me when I was little."

"Well, she must've gotten a kiddie version with an alternate ending. They committed suicide in the end."

"Grr… _Huck Finn_."

"Slavery."

"_The Crucible_."

"If you're suggesting that as a happy tale, I _know_ you haven't read it. Do you even know what 'crucible' means?"

"_Tarzan_."

"Tarzan's mother dies, and he and Jane don't even end up together."

"That's not true!"

"Are you talking about the novel or the Disney version?"

"Ahh! You are totally hopeless."

"What's your point?"

"_Black Beauty_."

"Don't even try to tell me that horse had a good life."

"_The Call of the Wild_."

"You don't get warm fuzzy books that take place in the Yukon… or that are written by Jack London."

"_Hatchet_."

"That boy went through a lot of crap before he was rescued. People who are stranded alone in the wilderness aren't happy-go-lucky."

"_Number the Stars_."

"Nazis… enough said."

"_The Count of Monte Cristo_."

"Suffering, revenge, more suffering, death."

"_A Walk to Remember_."

"The girl had cancer!"

"_Tuck Everlasting_."

"Puts a damper on immortality, don't you think?"

"_The Once and Future King_."

"Must I use the word? Sigh… incest."

"The Bible."

"Must I justify that with a comment?"

"_The Outsiders_."

"Oh, please. Members of different gangs pulverizing and murdering each other?"

"_The Wizard of Oz_!"

"Dorothy basically murders the Witch of the West, and it's the _latter_ who's wicked?"

"_Anne Frank_!"

"You're not even trying anymore."

Defeated, Serena plopped down onto the bed with a sigh. "I've got a question for you. Is there anything you _haven't_ read?"

"_Shadows of the Empire_."

"What's that?"

"A _Star Wars _book. Got a picture of Darth Vader on the front. I never read that."

"Well," Serena sighed, "I guess you win."

There was a brief pause. "_Arms and the Man_."

"What?"

"_Arms and the Man_ is a fairly happy book. Play, actually. A satire, but… True love, shedding social facades, and then, to top it off, a happy ending."

Serena smiled. "You know, if you'd've said that earlier, we could've saved a lot of breath."

Yami laughed. "So what did your parents read to you when you were a kid?"

"They read me normal kid books — _The Giving Tree_, _Love You Forever_, a bunch of books… My favorite was about a daddy bunny and a baby bunny."

Yami grinned. "You said you like bunnies."

"Yep."

"What was it about? The book, I mean."

"Well, the baby bunny would always say things like 'Daddy, I love you as long as my ears' or 'I love you as high as I can jump.' And then the daddy bunny would say, 'Well, I love you as long as _my_ ears' or 'as high as _I_ can jump.' And however much the baby bunny said he loved his daddy, the daddy bunny would always say something that was even bigger in measure. In the end of the book, as the baby bunny is falling asleep, he says, 'Daddy, I love you all the way to the moon.' And then he goes to sleep, and the daddy bunny whispers, 'I love you to the moon and back.'"

There was a silence for several long seconds. Finally, Yami whispered, "It's a good story."

"To this day, it's my very favorite. Someday, I'm going to read it to my children."

That night, Yami went to sleep with thoughts of bunnies and childhood poems offering a little light to the grim knowledge that ever-presently, ever-persistently floated inside of her mind. Serena was sleeping quite contentedly next to her until a furry paw insistently nudged at her face. _What's the big idea?_ she was about to shout before Luna shushed her, and she found herself groggily staring up at a gold crescent moon against black fur.

"What is it, Luna?" The frustration was obvious in the girl's voice. But the cat ignored it.

"I'm becoming increasingly suspicious of your friend, Serena. Something is not right."

"You said that last night. Can I go to sleep now?"

Luna ignored the comment as well as the question. "I followed her around today, and I must say I was less than pleased with some of her behavior."

"You're less than pleased with most of my behavior, so Yami must've been an angel."

"Serena, do pay attention. And please attempt to be serious. I believe this is a matter of some importance."

"All right, Luna," the girl sighed. "Let's hear it. Some of us are very tired after a long day of school. You try reading poems without rhythm or rhyme by a deaf guy named Hoover for an hour straight. And that's just one class!"

"Homer was blind, not deaf, and I hardly think that a little classic literature could hurt you."

"Why is it you don't like Yami, again? Seems to me you two would get along fine."

"Serena! I'm rather tired of this. You're not the only one who's had a long day — try chasing a skateboard for an hour straight, why don't you?"

"Luna, just tell me what you're trying to say so I can _get some sleep_!"

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Luna continued on her original topic of discussion. "Well, I followed Yami today after she left Crown Center Arcade. The first place she went was a neighborhood called Falls Avenue."

"That's where she lives."

"Please, let me continue, Serena."

"Sorry."

"At Falls Avenue, she broke into a house using a paperclip."

"Must've been her place! Remember, her parents forgot to give her a key. Guess she got in after all!"

"No, I do not believe this was her residence, Serena. A car was in the driveway when we arrived, and she entered only after the car had left. And when she was leaving, the same car returned. I'm sure the driver is the real occupant of the house."

"But why would she break into one of her neighbors' houses? That hardly makes sense."

"Yes, and there's another thing. She said to me… that she apparently no longer has a home. Do you have any idea what she could have meant, Serena?"

For the first time, the girl looked concerned. "No. 'No longer has a home'? But her parents are just out of town."

"Are you positively certain of that?"

"Well, she told me…"

"People lie, Serena. Some people do lie."

There was a silence, as if Serena could not decide whether to believe it or deny it. Finally, she sat up in bed, looking down at the cat. "Luna, where did she get that skateboard?"

"She took it from the house. Accidentally, I think — she appeared to have forgotten she was holding it."

Serena sighed. "She told me she left it in her driveway."

There was sadness in the girl's voice, and Luna almost regretted ever bringing up the subject. "I'm sorry, Serena. Yami has lied to you. Though perhaps she lied for reasons that she could not escape — or felt she could not escape."

"What do you mean?"

"The girl is lost and confused, there is no doubt of that. Perhaps she needs help and knows not where to look."

"But what is wrong with her? Why does she need help so badly?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that. Perhaps time will."


	4. Chapter 3: Light of the Moon

Chapter 3: Light of the Moon

The sunlight filtered in through the window, lighting the sleeping girls with a golden hue. Yami blinked awake and slowly let her vision come into focus. Serena was still asleep next to her. Luna was gone, probably downstairs with the rest of the family if they were awake. Careful so as not to wake her friend, Yami got up and got dressed, grabbing her skateboard as she headed down the stairs.

"Good morning." The girl jumped at the sound of a human voice, the first noise she had heard so far that morning that exceeded the chirping of birds outside a window in volume. She looked up to see Serena's father standing a few feet off to the side of the stairs, holding a steaming cup of coffee and looking up at her, still halfway between the first and second floors.

"G… good morning, Mr. Tsukino."

"Would you like some breakfast?"

"Uh, I'll wait until Serena wakes up. I was just going to… to the driveway to… skate." Which she was, though it sounded like a cover-up. She could not help it — despite how nice the Tsukinos had been to her, she was still nervous around them.

"I'll tell Serena where you are when she comes down."

"Thank you." Quickly, she made her way out the front door and immediately felt relieved to be out of the man's presence. People made her so uncomfortable — except for Serena, apparently, which made the childishly innocent meatball head seem even stranger to Yami than she already was. How did the girl do that? It seemed she could make friends with anyone. If she put her mind to it, Yami was sure that Serena could make the devil himself smile.

The day was warm and sunny. Yami squinted up at the shining golden orb in the sky, still low enough to cast long, comfortable shadows stretching off away from it. With a sigh, the girl dropped the skateboard and jumped on.

The kickflips and nollies came naturally, even with her mind distracted as it was. At one point, she noticed a small face topped by brown hair watching her in awe from behind a window, but she ignored Sammy and proceeded to pull a 720 kickturn. But while performing a perfectly balanced Crossbone Juggler, Yami failed to notice the front door open behind her, and when a cheery voice called her name, she barely had the presence of mind to get her feet down on the pavement before it could come rushing up to meet her. The skateboard clattered to the ground, and Yami turned to see Serena on the front porch. Smiling and picking up her skateboard, she moved toward the house to join her friend inside.

As the girls trotted together toward the kitchen, they passed by Sammy, who could not stop staring at Yami in total awe. Serena could hardly help but giggle as they sat down for breakfast. "You know, I think my brother thinks you're the coolest thing since three-day weekends."

Yami couldn't help but be surprised. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why?' You teach him to throw darts, you skate like you're directly related to Tony Hawk…"

"I think Elissa Steamer is way cooler than Hawk," Yami put in before she could think about it. "And you know, Jamie Thomas is even better — he's the only person to ever successfully land a Leap of Faith."

Serena raised an eyebrow. "Well, whoever. Who taught you all that stuff, anyway?"

"My father."

"And what about all that lit junk you spat off to me last night? Where'd you learn that?"

Yami shrugged. "My mom had me reading before I can remember. I guess it was a mix of what she taught me and what I got on my own. Why are we back to the questions?"

This time, Serena shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I was just kinda curious. So we still up for mall trip? I'll have to call all the girls — we'll have a blast!"

"Sure. I don't have any money to spend, though."

Serena cocked her head. "Hmm… that does present a problem…. 'Cause you do need some shoes, and I'm sure you don't want to be wearing my clothes forever."

Yami shrugged again. "Whatever. I don't care. I don't want you or your family or your friends buying me anything — I couldn't accept it. You've done too much for me already."

Serena looked a bit troubled. "I guess…. But I haven't done much — just let you stay over a couple of nights. It's not like it's been trouble or anything. But hey… are we still up for shopping trip?" she finally asked, a mope on her face.

Yami could not help but laugh. "By all means. I don't want to deprive you or anything."

The girl's face lit up. "And then we can go to the park. Ooh, I'll have to call Darien…." She rattled on and on as Yami ate her breakfast in silence, listening to everything Serena had to say, though she had to admit she could not keep up with most of it.

Setting their dishes in the sink, the girls headed back up to Serena's bedroom, where the giddy blonde proceeded to call her friends and Darien to tell them when and where to meet. Yami waited patiently through the phone calls. Each one seemed to take much, much longer than it should have — especially Darien's call — because Serena constantly went off on tangents and would start rambling, as always, on and on. But Yami did not mind. She found it quite amusing, listening to these one-sided phone calls. It probably would not have been half as amusing, though, had she been listening only to the other side instead.

Yami suddenly frowned, thinking that Serena was the only person she knew who could brighten her mood. Her one friend… her only friend in the universe… Serena had befriended her without question the moment they'd met and had trusted her, had invited her to stay at her home when they'd known each other for only a few short hours… practically strangers…. And Yami had been lying to her the entire time, to this friend of hers who had never done her any wrong. She wondered if Serena had ever done wrong in her life — it was very hard to believe.

"Hey! Anyone home?" Yami jerked back into reality and found herself staring into cheerful blue eyes. "Ready to go?" Serena chirped happily, and Yami nodded.

"Uh, yeah, I'm ready." Within fifteen seconds, they were down the stairs and heading out the front door.

"Hey, Yami!" The teen jumped in surprise and turned to see a messy-haired Sammy standing behind her. He blushed slightly as she stared at him unblinkingly. "Hey, uh… do you think you could teach me to skate sometime?" He looked so hopeful, and Yami could barely suppress a laugh. She grinned at the boy.

"You bet, kid," she said before scooting out the door after Serena and pulling it shut behind her. Together, the girls headed off toward the mall, talking happily the whole way — well, Serena talking, Yami listening the whole way.

Lita, Mina, Raye, and Amy were already congregated in a group when Serena and Yami arrived. Darien was there two minutes later, and the shopping frenzy commenced. Yami found her head spinning just watching the other girls. She could hardly keep up with any two words any one of them spoke. She imagined it must have been even worse for Darien, being a guy and all, but he seemed fine with it all, his eyes never leaving Serena for a second.

* * * * *

The mall had been a chaotic cloud of confusion in Yami's mind, but the park seemed very close to perfection. The sun shone down on the group, warming their skin and enhancing the beautiful colors all around them. There were no crowds, and everything seemed… clear… and peaceful. Yami could not help but feel relaxed, even sort of at home there.

It was not too terribly long before Serena and Darien disappeared, gone off somewhere to be alone. Yami found herself immediately uncomfortable, left alone with Serena's friends without Meatball Head there to make her feel more accepted. Not that the girls had not accepted her… she just did not know how to act around them. She did not _know_ them, and unfamiliar people always made her feel awkward and sometimes even terrified.

Lita, Raye, Amy, and Mina chatted good-naturedly as they all trotted through the park. Whenever one of them would ask Yami a question, she would stutter a short response before falling silent again. She hated people asking her so many questions. Why did everyone have to interrogate her all the time? It just made her more uncomfortable.

As they walked along, a flash of silver caught Yami's eye. She bent down to pick up a necklace, apparently dropped or discarded. A pendant of a yin-yang hung from a silver chain. The chain was broken, the ring that attached one side of the clasp to the chain itself missing. The other girls gathered around Yami, each inquiring into what she had found. Holding it up, she let each look at the pendant necklace. For some reason, she found the philosophical portrayal of light and dark quite intriguing.

"It's broken," Raye said, waving off the small discovery.

"No," Yami said quietly. "This would be easy to fix." Slowly rising, she pocketed the necklace and smiled at the girls surrounding her. "Not everything that seems broken really is."

As they continued on, there was no more talk of the broken trinket. Yami did her best to remain as silent as possible through it all and simply listen to the chatter, which she rather enjoyed. She did very well in her endeavor until Lita decided to shift the topic of conversation to their new counterpart.

"Say, where did your parents run off to in such a rush that they forgot to give you a key?" The question — or really more the sudden attention directed her way — caught Yami off guard. She had never thought of a place to say her parents had gone to. It went to show how many things she had not thought of.

"Um, uh… th… they went to N… New York." She swallowed, trying to regain some composure.

"What kind of parents would leave their only daughter out on the streets all alone?"

"They're good people," Yami whispered. "It was an accident…. It… it's not their fault." She saw Lita's eyes momentarily avert. It took her a very long time to realize that the girl, whether she'd known it or not, had not only been speaking of Yami.

"So how long are you staying with Serena?" Mina asked, apparently not noticing any of the inner tension displayed in either of her friends' faces.

"I… I'm n… not sure… exactly. Uh, until my parents get back. They, uh, they weren't really sure… w… when that was gonna be… uh, exactly."

"Bummer," Raye said. "Where were you planning on crashing before you met Serena?"

"Uh…"

"With another friend?"

"Uh, no…."

"A family member?"

"They don't live close enough…."

"Why did you leave your house with all the doors locked if you knew you couldn't get back in?" Amy asked. Yami had to suppress a sigh. Even quiet, polite Amy had some input about her life.

"I… I don't know," she stuttered. "I…"

"Don't you have a hide-a-key?" Mina asked, that innocently curious tone still ringing in her voice. That tone almost made Yami wince. Ignorance could do just as much harm as ill will.

"N… no…"

"What makes you stutter like that?" Yami looked at Lita. She could not tell by the girl's expression whether she was curious, concerned, or annoyed.

"People make me nervous," she replied softly.

"Do you still stutter like that around Serena?" asked Raye.

"Sometimes… I guess."

"Do you not like to talk?" Mina had chimed in. Yami was having trouble keeping up with who made which query.

"I… I don't like talking about myself."

"Low self-esteem issue?"

"Uh…"

"Well, you're not very much like Mina here." Raye bumped the blonde's arm with her shoulder.

"Hey!" came the quick response. The chattering once again commenced, and the focus shifted away from Yami. She could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. While she liked having acquaintances and was gradually growing a little more comfortable in their company, she hated having their attention so painfully directed her way — perhaps as much for being forced to examine herself as for having others judge her. Maybe "judge" was not even the right word. They were simply trying squeeze the tiniest drop of truth from her, which she, unfortunately, could not well give them.

Eventually, Serena returned, her arm linked through Darien's and her head resting on his arm. At the sight of the girl, Yami relaxed noticeably, though nobody noticed because none were looking her way. All eyes were fixed on the happy couple, and all chatter was immediately directed the same way. Serena's eyes did catch Yami's, and the cheerful blonde smiled and winked at her friend. The quiet teenager could not help but smile in return.

Again, the incessant talking dominated all sound in the immediate area, this time with one more voice adding variety to the constant melody. Darien, like Yami, was content to just listen. He seemed also to find the girls' conversation amusing, though occasionally dizzying.

The picnic, of course, was Serena's idea. Lita — the proud cook — immediately volunteered to contribute the food for the picnic, and Amy, jumping at the opportunity to do something besides idle around and gossip, volunteered to go along with her to help out. So Raye, Mina, Serena, Darien, and Yami were left alone to laze about by the lake. They had decided to end their consistent trek through the park because they did not want to be difficult for Amy and Lita to find when they returned.

For a while, Yami continued to listen to the girls' endless rambling. But as time passed, she gradually tuned out the conversation and simply gazed up at the clear blue sky. Stretched out on the grass, she could feel the sun warm her body through her clothes. It was a comfortable, relaxing feeling, and for a short while, time and reality seemed to cease to exist. But the feeling could not last forever, unfortunately, and reality along with its pleasures and pains insisted on returning to her, by the fault of, to her momentary discredit, Raye.

"Anything interesting going on up there in orbit, where you've been?" Yami jumped, jerking her head around, and found herself looking into violet eyes beneath raven bangs.

With a sigh, the teen replied, "You know, I'm sure if Amy were here, she'd have some sort of comment about what actually is going on in orbit."

Serena laughed, and Yami could not help but smile at the sound, despite her disappointment at having been interrupted during her brief psychological vacation. It was not often she had any peace of mind anymore.

It was not too much longer before Lita and Amy got back. "Well, it's about time," Serena said, fists planted on her hips. "I'm starving! You've been gone for an hour!"

Lita rolled her eyes. "Well, I'd call that a record."

To Yami, it certainly seemed that they'd made good time — excellent time, in fact, especially if they had had to go to the grocery store beforehand. They had returned with a huge picnic basket full of cookies, brownies — Yami wondered if Lita could have just made all of them, but the fact that they were still soft and warm testified that she, in fact, had — a variety of potato chips, sub sandwiches, and many things that Yami did not recognize but that looked delicious. As soon as the basket was open, the food began rapidly disappearing.

Sometime in the middle of the happy chatting and eating, Yami somehow managed to slip away. She was thoroughly enjoying the company, but after a long, full day of shopping and ceaseless talking, she needed a little time alone. Also, the knowledge of the lies she had made so many good people — people she called her friends — believe was weighing heavily, the hurt growing inside her heart the more she got to know and grew to love them.

A small pier extended out over the lake, where the water was turning a deep purplish shade as the light dimmed and the eastern edge of the sky darkened. The pier was out of sight of the selected picnic site of Serena and her friends, but it was still close by. The area was quiet, a state of sound the young teenager had not enjoyed that day since early morning.

As she sat down at the end of the pier, scenes began to play unbidden in Yami's mind. Of her childhood, of her early teen years when she'd just started to grasp maturity and the truths of the world around her, of her parents' loving faces with eyes glittering down at her, of Serena laughing cheerfully and smiling at Yami like she was a friend, of Serena's comrades happily enjoying the companionship they found in each other, of the love in Darien's eyes and embrace whenever he held his Meatball Head warmly in his arms, of the night Yami had awoken cold and alone in the streets… Tears glistened in her eyes as she thought of everything dear to her, the things she'd lost as well as the things she'd gained through lies. Her whole life had become a lie, as truth seemed to have disappeared from under her. She sought the vanished truth desperately but in vain. The world yielded no answers to her questions, and she remained lost.

Yami did not hear the footsteps progressing down the pier toward her, but somehow she was not surprised when Lita appeared, standing beside her.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" the brunette asked. Her voice was not curious or nosy or any of the things Yami would expect of a person she hardly knew — it sounded like the honest inquiry of a friend.

"My parents," the quiet teen answered honestly.

Lita nodded. "You must miss them."

"Yes," Yami whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. _If you only knew…_ She averted her gaze to the glittering water below her dangling feet.

"My parents died a long time ago," Lita said softly. She gazed dreamily… or maybe it was longingly… out at the horizon. "What is your family like?"

Yami swallowed. Just thinking about them hurt, but it was not a question she could easily avoid. "My father has sloppy brown hair, lighter than yours. He has a short, bristly beard that tickles whenever he kisses my cheek. Glasses and a wide, warm smile… gentle brown eyes… He learned to skate when he was a teenager, and he taught me. He taught me a lot of things. My mother has sandy-colored hair, like mine but long — down to her waist. She's so beautiful. She loves the world of literature and taught me to love it too. Ever since I was a kid, I've been reading books that most teenagers abhor."

Lita laughed. "'Abhor'? Now I know you're a lit nut!" Yami could not help but laugh a little too. "You must be great in school."

Yami neglected to answer. She did not know any response to offer. Instead, she asked, "Where do you go to school?"

"Juuban with Serena, Amy, and Mina."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember Serena telling me something about that." She paused for a moment. "But wait… why do you have a different school uniform than they do?"

Lita laughed. "I make a point of being a non-conformist. The teachers and staff are too afraid I'll smash their faces to say anything." This Yami had to laugh at. When they were through laughing, Lita asked, a note of curiosity in her voice, "So who was it that taught you to play air hockey, anyway?"

Yami shrugged. "Nobody taught me. Like I told Andrew, I'd never played before. I just got kinda lucky, I guess."

At this, Lita burst out laughing. "Lucky? Lucky enough to beat both me and Andrew time after time? Lucky enough to be _that good_ at a game you'd never played before in your life? Lucky at darts, too, but not lucky at Sailor V?" The brunette gave her an incredulous look.

Yami shrugged again, a bit more subtly. "I've always been good at aiming things, and my father says I've got good reflexes."

"There's an understatement," came the muttered response, and the sandy-haired teen could not help but laugh.

"Who taught _you_ to play air hockey?"

"I taught myself," Lita replied. Her face was hard, grim. "I taught myself everything."

"Everything?"

Lita nodded, lowering her eyes to her feet. "My parents died when I was a kid," she repeated, though it seemed to Yami that she was reluctant to do so.

Yami nodded solemnly. "Serena told me."

"Serena told you lots of stuff, huh?"

"I tried to keep the attention off me as much as possible."

At this, Lita cracked a small smile. "We noticed that particular trait."

Yami looked back out toward the water. "So who took care of you after… afterward?"

"I did." There was a short silence, both girls looking out at the lake. The sun dipped low on the horizon, bathing everything the light still touched in a spectacular range of bright, beautiful colors. The lake reflected a nearly perfect image of the sky. The scene was so beautiful that no photographer or painter, however talented, could ever have captured its sheer, mystifying beauty. Lita finally sat down next to Yami on the edge of the pier. "So, when _are_ your parents coming back? They wouldn't just leave without giving you some idea of when they'd be home again."

Tears welled up in Yami's eyes, but she pushed them back with all the strength she could muster to do so. "I wish… Lita, I wish I knew. I really wish I knew."

As darkness fell over the park and lake and the girls became silhouettes against the deep blue sky, they both turned simultaneously to a chiming, cheerful voice coming from the bank. The moon cast a silvery light over a smiling face topped by a pair of meatballs. Yami smiled sadly, tears still glistening in her dark eyes, and with her face hidden in shadow, no one noticed a solitary drop slide down her cheek and fall away to disappear forever, entirely unknown.

* * * * *

The day was bright, sunny, clear skies granting smiles to faces all around Tokyo. Together, seven friends strolled blissfully through the streets. Amy had even managed to leave every one of her textbooks at home, a feat that amazed all remotely acquainted with her. By some momentary lapse of judgment, Yami had left her skateboard behind at Serena's house. She was certainly missing it on a day as perfect as that one.

Lita, Mina, Amy, and Raye were discussing guys they thought were cute. For a rare span of time, Serena was comparatively very quiet, speaking only to put in a good word for Darien — not that he needed one — at opportune intervals. Darien was silent throughout the entire conversation, a rather uncomfortable expression on his face, though he did smile appreciatively and blush whenever Serena commented about him. Yami, also silent, watched and listened with extreme amusement, thoroughly enjoying the whole thing.

"He was so hot!"

"Wasn't he, though?"

"I'd give him an eight."

"Hah! Only an eight? Well, Darien is most definitely a ten!"

Ignoring Serena's comment, Lita put in, "You know, he reminded me just a little bit of my old boyfriend."

"Actually, I'd say Darien's way above a ten."

"Serena!" Raye seemed more than a little bit perturbed. "You can't go higher than a ten!"

Serena appeared to contemplate this for a few seconds, as if trying to find a loophole to the set-in-stone rule. "Well, if a person could be higher than ten, Darien would definitely be that person." Yami chuckled softly. Serena turned to look at her, her expression something between insulted, pouting, and angry. "Hey! Don't laugh! It's true!"

"I believe you, Princess Meatball Head. I don't think there's a single lie in that heart of yours." Serena looked a bit surprised at this statement, unsure of how to respond to it. Yami saved her the trouble. "Besides, who am I, a mere commoner, to question a princess?" A smirk split her face, and Serena laughed.

"Very good, peasant! You know your place." She leaned a bit closer, lowering her voice. "Now, would you mind sharing the knowledge with the rest of them?" She motioned to her friends. Yami laughed, but her laugh was interrupted by a gasp from Raye and quickly cut short a second later by a blood-curdling scream not far away.

Everyone froze. Yami looked around frantically before she realized that all other eyes in the group were fixed on Raye. "I can feel…" She gasped again. Suddenly, her hand shot out in front of her, pointing diagonally right from the direction they'd been walking. "It's this way." She took off at the head of the group, everyone else moving fast on her heels. Yami stood there, stunned, for a moment before she sprinted after them. That may well have been the freakiest thing she'd ever seen in her life. Well… maybe not, considering her life for the past four days. But… _feel_? Feel what? It was like… Raye could sense something the others could not. And they had known it. They had all known she could — they'd looked to her, known she could feel whatever was wrong. They had all _known_.

Skidding around a corner, Yami looked around frantically for Darien and the girls, but they were nowhere to be seen. What she did see, however, was the greatest scene of devastation that had ever met her eyes.

People were running as she had been a moment before, but they were all running away. Men and women cried out in pain; children cried in fear. Endless wailing assaulted Yami's ears, and she wished desperately to shut it out, but she could not. In the middle of the wide street, not a block away, was the cause for all the pain and terror that reigned the immediate area.

A giant beast towered above all the frightened humans desperately trying to get away from it. With monstrous roars, it stretched out its huge hands in front of it, creating gravitic anomalies like little black holes that seemed to catch people and freeze them in their tracks. As victims were pulled back toward the miniature singularities, they would cry out in pain and fear, their eyes clamped shut as they desperately tried to find the strength to get away. Then they would quickly pass out, their energy drained away, and be forgotten by the hideously ugly creature.

Before Yami could even work up an expression of disgust or dismay — she was not quite sure which — a familiar voice rang out from off to her left. Her head snapped around, and what was by far the most shocking thing she had ever seen suddenly filled her entire consciousness.

A golden disc flew through the air, smacking the monster in the head and leaving a hideous gash. A grunt of pain escaped the thing's throat as the disc spun back to land in a gloved hand belonging to a young girl in a sailor fuku. As it stopped spinning, Yami could suddenly see that the disc was really a golden tiara, but she did not focus on that. Instead, she merely gaped at the girl, who had opened her mouth to speak. "Take that, evil youma! Ai to seigi no, sailor fuku bishoujo senshi, Sailor Moon! Tsukini kawatte, oshiokiyo!"

Yami's mouth hung wide open. "S… Serena?" Despite the situation, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. Sailor Moon suddenly paused, staring at the teenager. But her attention was quickly drawn back to the issue at hand as the youma released an angry, unintelligible battle cry. It was then that Yami noticed the five figures standing behind Serena — or Sailor Moon, or whoever — Raye, Lita, Mina, and Amy, also in sailor outfits, and next to them Darien in a tux, cape, top hat, and mask. The defenders of the world… were her new friends? It was all hilarious and remarkable to Yami.

The girl's laughter was suddenly cut short, though, as a pain arose in her head, concentrated right behind her forehead. She lifted a hand to rub her temple, trying to make the headache go away. Somewhat forgetting the pain as she saw the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask start forward to fight the youma, she removed her hand from her temple to raise it in the air, ready to shout encouragement to her friends. But instead she cried out in pain as the headache suddenly increased viciously. It felt like something between a thousand knives simultaneously stabbing through her skull and being bashed over the head by a giant club. Falling to her knees, both hands shot to her head as all conscious thought washed away and only the pain existed.

* * * * *

Sailor Moon was preparing to attack when she suddenly gasped as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Shaking it off, she tried to regain her focus, but she instead cried out in fear and surprise as her knees began buckling beneath her. As she struggled to stay upright, she wondered what was happening to her, but her thoughts were distracted as she heard a high-pitched scream of agony somewhere not far away. Opening her eyes, she saw Yami on her knees on the ground, holding her head in both hands, shrieking in pain. A sudden wave of fear for her friend washed over the girl.

Amy and Lita were closest to Yami in position. "Mercury! Jupiter! Get Yami out of here!" Sailor Moon cried to her friends before gasping again as her strength dwindled even further. She fell to her knees, trembling and gasping for breath. She heard Yami shrieking louder, but she trusted that Sailors Mercury and Jupiter would do as she had said and save their friend before harm could befall her. Tuxedo Mask was soon standing over Sailor Moon, protectively placing himself between his love and danger. The sudden weakness began subsiding slightly, but she still could not find the strength to stand and was every moment fighting off unconsciousness as it beckoned her into its grasp.

* * * * *

Yami was unaware of the hands that grasped either of her arms or of the sensation of being moved. She continued to cry out as the intense pain persistently seared into her mind. She could focus on nothing beyond it — it became every inch of her being, from her dark eyes to her bare toes.

As she was moved farther and farther away from the battle, Yami could feel the pain in her head gradually easing. Her shrieks died down until she was gasping for breath, the pain reduced to a consistent throb. Even that faded away eventually, and she was left completely stunned, unable to even open her eyes.

The teenager's mind did not acknowledge that she was moving until she was gently laid down in a narrow, empty alleyway. She heard footsteps running away and managed to pry her eyes open long enough to see Lita and Amy, fully decked out in their senshi getups, sprinting around the corner, back toward the battle.

Groaning, Yami tried to lift a hand to her forehead but did not have the strength to. Her entire body trembling, she could finally hold her head up no longer. Exhausted by the intense pain that had stabbed through her mind and dominated her entire being, with a nearly inaudible whimper, Yami passed out.

* * * * *

Slowly, Sailor Moon's strength returned, and she managed to rise to her feet. Dizziness swept over her as she did so, but she pushed it away, the consuming weakness fading with every second and her strength returning to her. With a cry of determination, she reentered the battle, noticing from the corner of her eye Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury returning and joining in as well.

Standing together, the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask poured forth their energy against their enemy, and the youma's unintelligible shouts of anguish were soon extinguished.

* * * * *

Yami lay unconscious on the ground before them. Serena looked down upon her friend with concern. She looked up at Darien, who bent down to take the supine teenager in his arms. Her body was limp against his, her head resting lightly against his chest. Exchanging another glance with Serena, he started off for the blonde's home, carrying Yami as his love trotted alongside him.

"Hello, Darien," came the polite greeting from Serena's mother as he entered the house, but he could see the million questions behind the girl's parents' eyes. Serena explained that Yami had fallen asleep in the booth at the arcade and they had not wanted to wake her. It seemed a good enough excuse to Darien, and the Tsukinos seemed to accept it. So without any further ado, he carried the unconscious girl upstairs and laid her gently in Serena's bed before leaving her to rest.


	5. Chapter 4: As All Life Begins to Cry

Chapter 4: As All Life Begins to Cry

And there was a darkness over all the earth…

- Luke 23:44

Yami jerked awake, gasping for breath. She could feel the moisture standing out on her forehead but made no move to wipe it away. She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to forget, to push away all traces of the images that still haunted her vision, but the memory was still vivid in her mind. And the words still echoed in her ears. _By the power of the dark… By the righteousness of vengeance… By the epitome of all evil…_

With a broken whimper, she buried her face in her hands, wanting to cry but somehow unable to bring herself to do so. Instead, her shoulders shook with silent, tearless sobs. Ripping herself quickly into a sitting position, she jumped from the bed, her bare feet landing softly on the carpet. Running a hand through her hair, she worked determinedly to push the dream far away from her thoughts, to clear her mind of it completely.

_By the power of the dark… _Crying out again, Yami pressed her palms against her temples. Then, remembering with a jolt all that had happened the last time she'd been conscious, she suddenly had a world of questions for Serena. Her only friend, the contagiously happy blonde Meatball Head… a superhero? The defender of love? She seemed stuck between an incredible urge to laugh and an awestruck silence, both seeming equally fitting to the situation.

_By the epitome of all evil…_ Shaking her head violently, Yami left the bedroom to go find Serena. Anything to get rid of the words echoing through her mind and the spine-chilling voice that uttered them.

* * * * *

"What did you say happened?"

"I told you, it was just like something was draining away my energy."

Luna sighed. "Any number of things could have done that. I need you to be very specific — tell me exactly what sensations you went through when, as you say, your energy was taken away."

Serena thought about the question for a moment. "Well, it was kind of a gradual thing, I guess. At first, I was dizzy. Then my legs started feeling weak. It progressed really fast, and I couldn't stand or hardly even breathe. I thought for a while that I was going to pass out. But then my strength started coming back very slowly, a little bit at a time."

Luna paused, her tail swishing back and forth as she contemplated what the incident could mean. "If someone, an enemy of some sort, was trying to make you weak, why would your strength be granted back to you? It doesn't make sense. You're sure that no other possible enemies were present?"

Serena shrugged in reply. "I only saw the one youma."

"If a dark power or a weapon of some sort were truly being used against you, then you should have continued to lose energy until the loss killed you or at least have remained in your weakened state until the youma could kill you. But neither happened. Your strength returned, and you were luckily able to fight the youma."

"Luna, what kind of weapon or dark force could steal my power like that without any visible attack directed my way?"

"I'm not sure, but there are many areas of the black arts that have been hidden from our knowledge."

Serena sighed. "So you have no idea what it is?"

Luna paused. Her expression immediately gained Serena's full attention. Slowly, the cat began, "There was a rumor, back in the time of the Silver Millennium, of such a thing being created, or the possibility that it could be created."

"What thing?"

It was seldom that Serena saw Luna as troubled as she was at that moment, as much as the cat was always worried about _something_. "There was a man trained as a blacksmith who worked for the royal family. Blacksmiths in that time, Serena, were trained in the arts of magic as well. They needed it to be at all useful. But this man had secretly studied the black arts, becoming very powerful. He had a passion for dark magics. That is why your family exiled him."

"Exiled?"

The cat nodded. "He was banished from the moon kingdom. He swore revenge on you and your family. However, his power was taken from him when he left the kingdom, and he did not have the means to exact his revenge. It was believed that he dedicated himself to gathering more power in order to repay the royal family for their 'betrayal,' as he called it."

"But he couldn't have survived this long, even with the longer life of one of the moon people."

Luna's tail swished back and forth. "Don't be too sure, Serena. He was an expert in the black arts. An enchantment to prolong his life would not have been difficult for him to perform. And now would be a fairly opportune time for him to take his revenge on you."

Serena was silent for a moment, contemplating all that Luna had said. "But what about this thing you talked about — whatever it was that was created?"

"I do not believe it was actually created then. If it had been, it would have been used against you in that time. The dark blacksmith had the knowledge and, before he was exiled, the power to make such a thing. He invented it, as a matter of fact — invented the magics to create it. But he never did. It was for these plans that he was banished in the first place, and had he ever made it as far as to forge the thing, he would have used its power in that time."

"But what was it?" Serena's tone was exasperated. Luna suppressed the urge to shake her head at the girl's impatience.

"It was called the Anomaly Stone. It was supposed to have the power to negate the powers of the Silver Imperium Crystal. This could potentially take away your powers as Sailor Moon, rendering you helpless."

"But that can't be right. If it was this stone that took away my power, then why did I get my strength back?"

"The Anomaly Stone must be within a certain distance of the crystal in order for its powers to work. The father away it gets, the less power it has over the crystal. Once it is far enough away, there is no effect."

Serena paused again. "But why use it and then just leave in the middle of a battle?"

Luna shook her head to indicate that she had no answer to that. "Perhaps to simply test the invention. Perhaps the bearer of the stone was ignorant to its existence. Perhaps the stone did not work as it was supposed to. I hardly dare to dream that the latter is correct."

Serena sighed, shaking her head to try to clear it of the swirling thoughts. "But what about Yami? I wonder what could have happened to her. In the middle of the battle, she just started screaming her head off — not screams of fear like everyone else… it sounded more like pain. And when we went back to get her, she was unconscious."

"And you have no idea what could have caused this apparent pain she was in?"

"There was nothing attacking her, and she has no physical wounds. But she was holding her head."

"And you say the pain went away the farther she got from the fight?"

"Amy and Lita said she stopped screaming as they got farther away. Do you think it had something to do with the youma?"

"I don't know, Serena. That girl keeps getting stranger the more I learn about her."

Serena's eyes were sad. "I just wish I knew what's wrong."

* * * * *

As Yami reached the bottom of the stairs, she paused as she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Moving slowly toward the sound, she peeked through the door. Serena was there in the room, but she saw no one else except Luna, who was sitting on the counter.

"Just be careful, Serena. You can never know what's going on inside of a person." Yami was confused at first, but it was then that she realized that the voice was coming from Luna. _The cat_ was talking to Serena.

"Holy Beryl, it talks!" This whole situation was just getting stranger and stranger.

Serena's attention immediately snapped to her friend, who was still standing in the doorway, stunned. "What did you say?"

"The cat — the cat is talking."

Serena ignored the comment. "Beryl — how did you know about Queen Beryl?"

Yami cocked her head. "Who?"

Serena looked to Luna, who remained silent. The girl sighed. "Yami, what do you know about the Negaverse?"

"Nega-what?"

"Yami, please!" Serena's voice was exasperated. It took the teen aback slightly. "Where did you learn about Queen Beryl?"

"I h… have no idea what you're talking about," the sandy-haired girl replied earnestly.

"But you just said 'Holy Beryl.'"

"Did I?"

Serena sighed, looking at her feet. "Who are you, Yami? I need to know."

The teenager opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Had she had any clue what to say, she still would not have been able to say it. Inside, she felt her heart shatter. Serena's eyes, always so trusting and loving, were unsure and even a bit afraid… and so distant. Yami looked at Luna. That cat was staring at her. Looking back at Serena again, she was suddenly unable to take anymore. Turning, she quickly fled from the room.

Serena looked at Luna for a moment before going after her friend. The sandy-haired teen was in Serena's bedroom, sitting on the bed and facing the left side of the room from the door, her head in both hands. Serena moved to sit down just behind her. "Yami, please tell me what's going on."

"I can't." The girl's voice was soft, barely audible.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm tired…" — her voice cracked, and she turned to face her friend, tears standing out in her dark eyes… Serena had never seen eyes that dark — "of lying to you."

Serena was silent for a moment, taken aback. Then she began again. "Then don't lie. Just tell me the truth. I'll understand."

Yami sighed, dropping her head. "I don't know the truth. I wish I did. I woke up alone out on the street in the middle of the night. I couldn't remember how I got there. The next morning, I went home, but it's not my home anymore. I don't know where my parents are or if they're coming back. I didn't have any friends to go to, but then I met you. And you brought me home with you and treated me like a friend. I'd never had one before…." She paused and then sighed again. "I didn't know what to tell you. A week ago, my life was normal and made sense. Now nothing is right anymore."

Serena sat, stunned, the whole time Yami was speaking. After her friend finished, she was unable to speak for several long seconds before finally regaining her voice. "So you were all alone?" she asked quietly. Yami swallowed and nodded, not looking up to meet Serena's blue gaze. The burden seemed terrible to Serena. What would it be like to be left in a world with no friends, family, or home? It had to have been completely awful, she imagined. She could feel tears well in her eyes as she moved forward to embrace Yami, not noticing the teen's surprise. It was then that Yami noticed Serena was crying. "I'm so sorry!"

"S… sorry? For what?"

"I can't imagine what that must have felt like. It had to have been just terrible." Yami did not answer. It had been terrible. But Serena had been there to make it all right. "So you're sure that your parents are gone?"

Yami nodded. "There's another family living in my house."

"Is that the house you broke into the other day?"

"H… how did… you know about that?" Serena hesitated. It was then that Yami remembered. "Luna was there. Luna told you."

Still, the blonde hesitated. Yami could see the uncertainty in her eyes. "L… Luna? But… cats don't talk…."

"I'm not an idiot. I know what I saw. Besides… after I saw you yesterday… Sailor Moon!" She couldn't help but laugh. "You think a talking cat is going to surprise me that much?"

Serena was silent for several seconds. "How did you know it was me?"

"Oh please! It's not like you even wear a mask or anything. And no one else in the universe has that hairdo." She smirked. Serena still found it strange, though. No one else had ever been able to tell. Even she and Darien had taken a long time to figure out each other's secret identities, and they worked together as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask.

With an exhausted sigh, Yami fell backward onto the bed. "I'm sorry, Serena," she said quietly, her eyes closed, moisture still visible around the edges of her lids. "I didn't know what to do. The more I got to know you and your friends, the worse the lie became. But the truth was harder, and the truth was incomplete. I… I don't even think it exists anymore."

Serena looked down on her friend, surprised. "What? Truth? You don't think truth exists?"

Yami shook her head. "No. I mean, I suppose something is true, but it's avoiding me like a plague." She sat up, opening her eyes and looking at Serena. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. If you want me to leave, I'll go."

"No way! Never. I'm not gonna boot you out to live on streets 'cause you told a little lie. Baka! I wouldn't be a very good friend if I did that, now would I?"

"Uh… well, to tell you the truth, I don't know. I've never had a friend before."

"Well, take my word for it, then. You'll stay here for as long as I can convince my mom and dad that your parents are just out of town. But this won't work forever…. Hey! I know! You can stay with Lita. She lives alone, so it won't matter how long you stay there — no one will care. She won't mind… you know, until you get back on your feet or whatever."

"Are you sure she won't mind?"

"Yeah. I'll talk to her about it at school tomorrow. Speaking of which, you really should get enrolled in school if your parents really are gone."

Yami shook her head. "I have enough things on my mind right now. I'll have to worry about that at a later time."

Serena nodded. "Yeah. I sure wouldn't want to be in school at a time like this if I were you."

"Can I ask you something?" Yami's voice sounded hesitant.

"Sure."

"Why?" she asked softly.

Serena cocked her head, obviously lost. "Why what?"

"Why… all this? You're so good to me…. Why even be my friend?"

"Because you need one."

Yami swallowed, averting her eyes. "The first day I met you, I talked about trust. I betrayed your trust. Why do you believe me now?"

"Because that's what friends do." The sandy-haired teen smiled sadly, her eyes never rising to meet Serena's. "So, any other questions?"

Yami could not help but laugh. "Yeah, lots. It's not every day you find out you're acquainted with Sailor Moon."

"Well, why don't you start? Since you obviously already figured out the secret identity thing — which, by the way, you can't tell a soul — I might as well clear things up for you."

"Okay… First of all, I won't tell. Don't worry about that. Who the heck would I tell, anyway? All right…" She took a deep breath, trying to decide which question to ask first. "How did Raye know… where to find the monster… or maybe where all the fear and pain were coming from… or whatever? It was like… she knew beforehand. I heard her gasp before I heard the first scream."

"Oh, that's easy. Raye is psychic."

"Ah… okay… Sheesh, this just keeps getting more and more amazing… or weird… or, I don't know… just, wow."

Serena giggled. "Any _more _questions?" Yami could not help but laugh.

* * * * *

The room was dark. There was no sound, but Yami could tell by Serena's unsteady breathing that the girl was not asleep. She had seemed… troubled… like she had something on her mind, but Yami did not know what.

"Serena?" Yami whispered into the darkness.

"Yep?"

There was a pause. "What's wrong?"

There was silence for a long time, and Yami had just concluded that Serena was not going to answer her when the girl's voice asked softly, "Yami, what happened to you at the battle? I was afraid… I didn't know if you were going to be okay."

Staring into the darkness, Yami suddenly wondered just what _had_ happened. "I'm not sure exactly. I remember seeing you and Tuxedo and the other scouts show up. I couldn't believe my eyes. But then I got a sudden headache. I figured it might go away or something, but then it got worse. It hurt so bad… I've never felt anything like it. Well… it was like the pain in my head in the dreams and the pain I woke up to in the street the other night. But it had never been this bad before. I… I think it was concentrated behind my forehead, but I'm not sure. I couldn't think or anything. I didn't even notice when Lita and Amy started dragging me away from the fight. But then the pain started to fade… until I was left only with the memory of it. But it took all of my strength, and I was too tired to move. I remember seeing Amy and Lita running back toward the battle before everything went black."

There was a silence before the sound of Serena's voice broke it again. "There's something I didn't tell you." Yami waited as Serena paused again. "During the battle… something happened to me. At first it was subtle… I felt dizzy, but then I could barely stand. Then I _couldn't_ stand. It was like something took away all my energy."

Yami lifted her head from the pillow. Had her face been visible, Serena would have been able to see the worry in her eyes. "What happened? Were you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." She heard Yami exhale in relief. "My strength came back, but it was weird. It kinda freaked me out."

"It scared all of us." Yami jumped. She knew in her head that Luna had the capability to talk, but she was having trouble getting used to it. Luna had finally decided that Yami was sticking with her acquired knowledge of the cat, so she had stopped trying to hide the fact that she could speak.

"What could have done it?" Yami asked.

There was silence again before Luna finally said, "We don't know."

"But we think it might be something called the Anomaly Stone," Serena put in. She could not see the disapproving look from Luna. While the cat had accepted that Yami knew Serena's secret identity, she was not into over-sharing information with the teen. "Do you know what that is?" Serena continued, oblivious to Luna's thoughts.

Yami shook her head, though no one could see the motion. "No, I've never heard of it. What is it?"

Serena paused. "Well, in short, it takes away my power."

"If it exists," Luna interjected. "It may not. It is simply a possibility."

"Probability is more like it," Serena said, "since it's the only thing we can think of that comes close to what happened to me." There was a short pause. "On the other hand, we have no idea what happened to _you_."

"_Who cares_? I'm not the one who has to fight evil. You have a purpose in this world — I don't."

"Yes you do. You just don't know what yet. You think 'cause I'm a superhero that I can see into the future? And by the way, I do care what happens to you."

There was another short pause. "Serena, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. Anything."

"Do you have something I can write on?"

"Yeah, sure. Is that it?" A few seconds later, a light flipped on, and Yami had to shield her eyes. She heard Serena shuffling through some things and opened her eyes to see a small book right in front of her nose. "Here. You can have it. I'll get another one."

Hesitantly, Yami took the book. Flipping it open, she saw that it was obviously meant to be some kind of diary, the pages blank, unused. "Are you sure you want me to have this?"

"Sure I'm sure. Oh wait!" She grabbed a pen from her bookbag and handed it to Yami. "Can't write without one of these, can you?"

Yami took the pen and smiled at her friend. "Thank you. I'll go down to the living room so you can try to get some sleep." Without another word, she slipped out of the bed and exited Serena's bedroom, padding softly downstairs.

Flipping the little book open, Yami touched the pen to the paper. And the words automatically began appearing on the page, as if of their own volition. She'd always liked dabbling in poetry, but it had never flowed out of her like it did on that night. Her very heart and soul were speaking. Never before had she so felt the words she wrote. Her breath came shorter and shorter as the confusion and fear and despair welled out through the pen and onto the paper.

The sky begins to churn  
Darkness seems to turn  
All looks down on me  
As if I can see  
The future through clear eyes  
As if there were no lies  
Clouding up my soul  
As if I had a role  
To play in this lifetime  
As if I fit the rhyme  
My heart longs to see the day  
When laughter and music play  
When the sun shines its light  
On a world that's warm and bright  
When life is like a song  
With verses never wrong  
As if evil didn't rule  
And life was not so cruel  
But joy is just a tale  
And I've seen that love can fail  
A story I know well  
A story I can't tell  
Of life fading to black  
And never coming back  
'Cause dreams are just a wish  
Like true love's first kiss  
And the light will slowly die  
As all life begins to cry

* * * * *

Yami slipped silently back into the bed, laying her head down softly on the pillow. "Serena?" she whispered into the dark, wondering if the girl was still awake.

"Hmm?" came the sleepy response.

Yami smiled softly, though she knew Serena could not see it. "Arigatou."

"For what?"

After a short silence, the teen replied, "For being my friend."

* * * * *

The dream came again that night. And with it came the voice, the haunting words, the silhouetted form above her, and the throbbing pain in her forehead.

_By the power of the dark… By the righteousness of vengeance… By the epitome of all evil…_

She cried out in her sleep. The terror and despair were too heavy a burden. But in the dream, her supine form did not make a sound… could not somehow.

_By the black magic endowed to me… Against the powers of the moon kingdom and the princess of serenity…_

Yami whimpered, wishing desperately to wake up, but she could not. The voice and the images would not go away, and neither would the pain. Then, all of a sudden, the pain increased sharply, and she shrieked in agony. And everything disappeared into blackness.


	6. Chapter 5: Ai no Senshi

Chapter 5: Ai no Senshi

Yami slowly became aware of the light filtering through her eyelids. With some difficulty, she forced her eyes open, looking slowly around Serena's bedroom. The bouncing blonde had apparently already left for school. With a groan, the teenager sat up, rubbing her forehead. _By the power of the dark…_ With a whimper, she pushed the covers away and sprang from the bed.

Noticing a flash of silver on Serena's dresser, Yami looked more closely to find the necklace she had discovered in the park the other day. Searching the pockets of her borrowed blue jeans, she found the paperclip she had used to break into her house still there. Taking the necklace and the paperclip, she started down the stairs.

"Good morning." Yami jumped. She would never get used to people talking to her first thing in the morning… or at all.

"Good morning, Mrs. Tsukino. Is Serena already gone?"

"Yes, she decided to let you sleep in. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Uh, maybe in a few minutes. Do you have a pair of pliers I could use?"

"Sure, hold on a moment." The woman disappeared and came back a few minutes later with the requested tool. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Yami took the pliers back up to Serena's room and sat down on the bed. Clipping a short piece of metal off the end of the paperclip, she bent the piece into a ring to reattach the clasp to the chain of the necklace. Within five minutes, it was as good as new.

Fastening the chain around her neck, Yami fingered the yin-yang pendant thoughtfully. Then, looking up, she noticed the little book Serena had given her sitting on the floor next to the bed, an ink pen lying on top of it. Picking it up, she opened it and began writing again as the dream still echoed faintly in her mind.

The darkness breathes  
The darkness quakes  
In the night  
My heart breaks

The night is one  
A piercing shout!  
Is dark what life  
Is all about?

The light bears down  
A blinding glare  
But then fades to  
An evil stare

Did I feel God  
In a last embrace?  
I think I saw  
His fading grace

The sun's gone out  
The day is dead  
"All are punished"  
As Shakespeare said

"Is there no pity sitting in the clouds"  
That virtuous men may die  
And washed by gold in the light of the moon  
Mothers of dead still cry

Sighing, Yami closed the book. She smiled slightly at the small illustration of a bunny on the cover. She had not noticed it before. Taking the book and her skateboard, she headed down to the kitchen for a quick breakfast before leaving the house and heading to the arcade.

Andrew looked up as Yami walked in. "Hey! Up for a game of air hockey?"

Yami chuckled. "I think I'll spare you." She sat down at the counter and rested her head in the palm of her hand.

After a few moments, Andrew's forehead wrinkled in concern. "Hey, you okay? You look a bit tired."

Yami groaned. "Weird dreams."

"Wanna talk about it?" He received a headshake in return. "I understand. Anything you want?"

"Nah. Thanks, though. I think I'll pass. Just thought I'd stop by. Everyone else is at school right now."

"They'll be here later." Yami nodded, letting her head drop to rest on the counter. Andrew eyed the girl carefully. "You sure you don't want to tell me what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. There are bigger problems out there than mine."

"Doesn't mean they're not important."

Yami shook her head again. "I'll be just fine. I've got friends to help me through whatever, right?" She offered a half smile, and Andrew smiled back. "I'm really lucky to have a friend like Serena. She doesn't give up on people easily."

"No, she doesn't. But don't worry — you don't deserve to be given up on."

"Would you like to place a small wager on that?"

"Sure. Because I'm right."

Yami chuckled and sighed. "Are you always right?"

"Absolutely." This drew a laugh, and Andrew smiled at his success. "You know, you need to lighten up a little more. Smile more — it helps a lot."

"Thanks for the advice. I'll have to remember that."

"So," — the blond man grinned mischievously — "_now_ are ya up for that game of air hockey?"

Yami chuckled. "Not now. That's very brave of you, though." At this, Andrew had to laugh. The girl could have a sense of humor when she wanted to. But most times she seemed so… solemn. Maybe Serena could cure her of that.

"What's that?" Andrew asked curiously, pointing to the book she had set down on the counter.

Placing a hand over the book, Yami shrugged. "Nothing, really. I just like writing little stuff sometimes."

"What, like a diary?"

She shook her head. "No. I write poems."

"A poet, huh? You must be the next Emily Dickinson. So what kind of poetry do you write?"

Yami shrugged. "I dunno — whatever my heart tells me to write."

"Can I read any?"

"Nope."

Andrew planted two fists on his hips, pretending to be mad. "And why not?"

"Because."

"Oh, that's a perfectly good reason." Yami had to smile at the sarcasm.

"You probably wouldn't like them, anyway."

"Wanna try me?"

"No."

"All right, then. Indulge me just a little bit — why on Earth wouldn't I like your poems?"

"'Cause you're too happy."

Andrew faked a thoughtful look. "I didn't know a person could be 'too happy.' But then again, I'm not a psychiatrist. Do they have a thing against happy people too? I thought it was just depressed people. And is there such a thing as chronic elation?"

"Well, I can't tell you for sure about the chronic elation thing, but I think so, and Serena has it."

"But that's a good thing," Andrew said pointedly.

Yami nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"So tell me, wise one, what is wrong with being too happy?"

"Absolutely nothing. I envy you."

Andrew's eyes softened. "You could be happy too, you know. It's all in the head."

Yami smiled sadly. "You're wrong this time, Andy. It's all in the heart."

* * * * *

Collapsing against the brick wall of a building, Yami allowed her eyes to fall shut, unwilling to exert the energy to keep them open. Her chest heaved, and each breath hurt. Not that she minded much, though. The physical exhaustion took her mind off other things.

She had been skating for hours, nowhere at all and for no reason other than to be doing something. And somehow just feeling the board beneath her feet, the way it fit so perfectly, the graceful balance she had achieved after years and years of experience, brought her an incredible feeling of comfort. There was nothing else she could touch that connected her to her past, and somehow, when she was skating, she could almost believe that everything else did not matter. And on another upside, she liked the exercise. It felt cleansing in a way.

Looking down at the skateboard still gripped firmly in her hand, Yami marveled once again at the form of the virtuous young man holding up a sword to pierce the darkness. Looking down at the pendant around her neck, she closed her eyes once more, thoughts of light and dark swirling in her mind. The thing that no philosophy ever dealt with, though, was the gray — the place in between white and black that no one wanted to touch. In truth, there was more gray than anything else.

As minutes passed by, Yami's breath began to slow, and somewhere between thoughts of skateboards and yin-yangs and gray, she dosed off into a light sleep that steadily grew deeper the longer she remained in its hold. Whispers came from above her, though she could not make out the words. The consistent throb returned again, as always, but she had learned to ignore it when it remained a mere throb. She saw fire, which contrasted the cold she felt, and the whispers grew louder, sounding incredibly akin to a demon hiss. The voice grew louder yet, and the pain in her head began to increase. She could feel fear well up inside of her, for she knew too well what was coming, but before the pain could grow to that agonizing stab, she snapped awake.

"Hey! Hello? What the heck are you doing sleeping out here, anyway? Anyone home in there?" Yami shook her head and looked up to see Raye standing over her in her catholic school uniform. It had been Raye who had woken her up, and she immediately felt a great swell of gratitude. "I'm heading to the arcade. Care to come? You know, unless you'd prefer sleeping here on the sidewalk."

Yami shook her head as she slowly stood up. "I guess I just kinda dozed off."

"Well, I wouldn't try to do that often if I were you. Lots of bad crap can happen to you when you let your guard down in the middle of the street."

Yami couldn't help but smirk. "I'll bet. Could get attacked by a youma or an agent of the Negaverse or something."

Raye stopped, staring at Yami. "Just what did Serena tell you?" she asked, hands planted on her hips.

"Relax. I figured it out on my own. Talking cats, Sailor Scouts, big monsters — Serena just filled in the blanks."

Raye sighed. "Maybe she shouldn't have done that much."

"Don't worry — Luna supervised. That cat seems to be careful enough about things, even if Serena's not. Besides, like I told Serena, your secret's safe with me. Who do I have to tell?"

"Well, I obviously don't know you well enough to answer that question."

"Then trust me — there's no one."

The bell jingled on the arcade door as Raye and Yami walked in. Serena and all the other girls were already there, as was Darien. Yami managed a smile in return for their greetings and quickly took a place at the counter between Serena and Lita. The tall brunette immediately turned to her. "So, I hear you're having trouble with the parental units and are gonna crash at my place."

Yami nodded. "Something like that."

"Don't worry," said Serena. "We'll talk about that later. This isn't really the place for it."

"But you've gotta face it," Lita put in. "If you're gonna hang out with Serena, pretty much every big secret about your life is going to filter over to us."

"That's not true!" Serena interjected. "But this is too big to keep a secret."

"Uh, okay…" Yami was just trying to keep up with the flow of the conversation. "But, Lita, who all is 'us'?"

"Me, Amy, Mina, Raye, and Darien." She leaned forward, whispering, "And Luna and Artemis too — pretty much anyone in on the whole Sailor Scouts thing."

"Who's Artemis?"

"Mina's cat," Serena replied. "He's got a crescent moon on his forehead too, but he's white."

"Does he talk too?" Yami whispered to her friend. Serena nodded in reply. Yami had to stop herself from laughing — another talking cat? Things just kept getting stranger and funnier.

"You know," — Amy leaned around Lita so that she could see all three girls — "this might be a conversation better saved for another time."

Lita nodded. "Yeah. We'll go into all this later."

"Go into all what?" Andrew leaned his elbows on the counter, resting his chin in his palm.

"None of your business," Lita replied curtly.

"Darien gets to know." He pointed to his best friend, sitting next to Serena with his arm wrapped around her waist.

Darien laughed. "Get your girlfriend on the inside, and then you can be in on it."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure I wanna know."

"Probably don't," Lita said with a suggestive smirk. "Try calling back at another time." Chuckling and shaking his head, Andrew turned away from the small group and directed his attention elsewhere. Lita turned back to Yami. "So what did you do all day? Must be great, not having to go to school."

Yami shrugged. "I hung out here a little, then I skated awhile. Nothing really overly interesting."

"I say that all the time, and no one believes me." Yami could not help but smirk. Lita continued, "They think, you know, 'cause nothing happened that I'm just hiding something."

"Well, are you?"

The brunette blushed. "Not always." Yami laughed.

* * * * *

"First things first — are you normal or goofy footed?"

"Huh?"

Yami sighed, shaking her head. "Which is your dominant foot?"

"I dunno."

"Here." Yami took Sammy's shoulders and spun him around to face the door. "Focus on the front door. Are you focusing?"

"Yup."

"Good." Without warning, she pushed him, and he stumbled forward.

"Hey!"

"You're goofy."

"No I'm not!"

Yami laughed. "When I say 'goofy,' I mean you're right-footed. You stepped with your right foot when you stumbled forward."

"Oh… okay." Yami laughed again.

"Come on. Put your right foot in front and push off with your left. Make sure to keep your weight forward at all times." Sammy did as he was told, placing his right foot on the skateboard and pushing off with the other. He immediately lost his balance, and the skateboard shot out from under him. Yami winced and moved to retrieve the board. "Are you all right?"

"Yup… ouch."

"Maybe we should try both feet on the board, and I'll give you a push-start until you get the feel of it."

"Okay." Warily, the boy stepped back on the skateboard, placing his back foot on second and holding his hands out for balance.

"Put your hands down. You need to stay relaxed. If your muscles are tense, your legs won't absorb any shock, and you'll just be rattled along the whole way. Okay, ready?" She received a nod in return. Using the ball of her foot, she nudged the skateboard into a roll. Sammy's hands immediately shot out again as he felt the motion beneath him. "Stay relaxed, and keep your weight forward. If you feel like you're leaning forward enough, you're not, so go a little beyond your comfort zone. That's it."

The grin on Sammy's face when the board rolled to a stop was priceless. Yami just had to laugh. "Ready to push off on your own?"

"Yeah!" he yelled immediately, though the excitement in his face answered even without his enthusiastic shout. Yami laughed again, shaking her head as she watched him.

* * * * *

Serena giggled as Yami fell backward onto the bed, running a hand through her short sandy hair, which was still slightly damp from her shower. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say my brother has a crush on you."

Yami couldn't help but laugh, both at the suggestion and the mockingly mischievous tone in Serena's voice. "Get real, Meatball Head. He's just a kid."

"A kid who looks at you like you're a goddess."

This drew another laugh. "But not a princess," she teased. Serena did not take the bait, though, and Yami shook her head with a sigh. "He likes the fact that he's hanging out with a sixteen-year-old skater. It makes him feel cool. I was a kid once, you know."

"Once? You know, some would argue that we still are kids."

"Maybe you are. You still have that happy innocence, which, by the way, don't ever lose…. But we can't all stay little forever. Even you're growing up — you even found your true love, and you give your life to fighting the things nightmares are made of. It's not child's play, but you still retain this childlike joy and zest for life. It's a miracle to me…."

"You know what I think is some kind of miracle?" Serena's voice was distant.

"What?"

"How on Earth do airplanes manage to fly? I mean, when you see birds, they always flap their wings. I thought that was what made them fly. But airplanes don't flap. How do they do it?" Yami cracked up laughing. Serena stared at her for several seconds, stunned. "What?"

Yami shook her head. "I will never cease to be amazed by your random thoughts, Meatball Head. In answer to your question, though, it's the curve in the wings that let the airplanes fly. If you'll notice, the top part of the wing is much more curved than the bottom part, so the air moves faster over the top. The faster air is lighter, so the denser air pushes upward on the wing, creating lift. Does that make since?"

"No."

"Well, in that case, just keep considering it a miracle." Yami could not help but chuckle at the slightly confused look on Serena's face.

With a shrug, the blonde decided that the physics of airplanes were just not worth the effort to understand. "Did I ever tell you Lita's afraid of airplanes?"

"No. That's strange…. I never pegged her as being scared of anything."

"Mm hmm. That's how her parents died — in a plane crash."

"Oh yeah… I do remember that. It must have been terrible." That was one of the things Yami liked about Lita — she knew what it was like to lose parents. It made her slightly easier to relate to than the other girls.

"I guess you would know," Serena said softly. Her voice was sympathetic, even understanding, it seemed.

Yami drew a slow breath. "No, not really. Her parents are dead. They're never ever coming back — she'll never see them again. There's absolutely no hope of that, and she has to live with knowing it." There was a pause as the teenager exhaled heavily. "But then again… to not know…" She sighed. "My parents just disappeared. I don't know where they are, if they're alive, if they're ever coming back, if I'll… I'll ever see them again…." Her voice cracked, and she averted her eyes, trying to hide the threatening tears. "The utter state of not knowing… that's hard too. Given the choice, I'm not sure which I'd pick."

Looking up at Serena, Yami could see that the girl's blue eyes brimmed with unshed tears… tears for her? She offered the girl a sad smile. "But then again, since when did life ever give you a choice? I'm assuming you didn't have a choice about being Sailor Moon?" Serena swallowed and shook her head. Yami nodded in understanding. "That's a heavy burden you bear, and I'm amazed at how incredibly well you carry it. Life is still bright to you. All your life, you'll fight through the night, but you still manage to see the sun and see it clearly." She lowered her gaze. "I wish I could see."

"It's not hard," Serena said encouragingly. "Just think — think of all the wonderful things in our world. Red roses, little buds on trees in the spring, ducklings swimming around in the lake, all the babies born each day, sparkling spider webs in the morning before the dew dries, little puppy dogs who wag their tails and give a happy bark every time they see their owners — they're all miracles, and they're everywhere."

"I know." The teen's voice was soft, broken. "But so are the tears. Everywhere you turn… and even time can't make all the hurt go away."

"But love can."

At this, Yami was left speechless. _But love can_. Love was what gave Sailor Moon her real power — what gave her the strength to fight when it seemed there was nothing left to fight for. When all had disappeared into darkness, only love cast a warm glow through the unending night. It was the sword that pierced the dark. _Only love._

_I've seen that love can fail__…._The words echoed in Yami's mind — her own words — as if whispered in her ear by a voice that only she could hear. Yet she saw before her the epitome of love, a girl who seemed to her almost the embodiment of love, ai no senshi.

With a nod, Yami smiled softly at her friend. "Love can."

* * * * *

_Hera cast Hephaestus from Olympus, and he repaid her for her wrongdoings. The God of Fire, the God of Forge, the god whose works were unmatched by any other… the god who made the chariot of Helios, the impenetrable armor of Achilles… who created the first woman, Pandora, from clay… Mulciber, Vulcan, Volcanus, Hephaestus, God of Fire, God of Forge._

_Hidden away in Lemnos, under the volcano, was forged the gilded prison that held Hera… and here will be forged the face of death to the lovely Selene that even the love of precious Endymion cannot undo._

_Hephaestus, God of Fire, God of Forge…_


	7. Chapter 6: The Fall of Love

Chapter 6: The Fall of Love

"I don't know!"

"Come on, Serena." Yami's voice was exasperated. "You're going to have a test today. You need to know this stuff."

"It's just a mini-test…."

"Worth half a test grade, which is still a lot."

"It's not like I'm not trying!"

"I know you're trying, but you're not getting. Now who forged Achilles' armor?"

"Which side was Achilles on again?"

With a sigh, Yami let her forehead drop into her palm. "Achilles was the champion of the Greeks; Hector was the champion of the Trojans. Got that?"

"I think so."

"Good, 'cause if you don't know that, then this is pretty much hopeless."

"Hey!"

"Sorry. Now, who forged the armor?"

"Umm… a blacksmith?"

Another sigh. "Hephaestus." _God of Fire, God of Forge…_ With a gasp, Yami quickly raised a hand to her forehead as a sharp pain shot through her skull to disappear just as quickly.

Yami shook her head. _What…? Where did that come from?_

"Hey, you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I… I'm fine. Uh…" She cleared her throat. "He… Hephaestus, the Greek name for the god of fire, particularly the blacksmith's fire." _God of Forge…_

"All right. Hephaestus… got it."

"All right, moving on…" Yami continued, slowly forgetting the momentary pain and the strange words that had come unbidden and unexpected. The feeling that had so shaken her on the inside slowly faded away, and the memory moved to the back of her mind.

* * * * *

Serena sprinted into the school, disappearing inside seconds before the bell rang. Chuckling, Yami shook her head, turning away from Juuban Middle. Dropping her skateboard to the pavement, she was off down the sidewalk by the time the school bell silenced.

The wheels scraped against the pavement as Yami kickturned around a corner. There was the _clack_ of the kicktail hitting the ground as she ollied onto a rail. The metallic scrape of trucks against railing was oddly satisfying, as was the sound of the board landing back on the pavement at the end. With a 180 Indy grab, Yami was becoming more and more comfortable as she melded with the board, becoming one with the wind tearing at her clothes and hair and spirit. Tucking her foot beneath the board, pressing it firmly against the wood, she was midway through an old-skool kickflip when all concentration shattered.

With a cry of pain, both of Yami's hands shot to her head. The loud clatter of the skateboard against the pavement did not make it through to her mind, and the pain of slamming into the sidewalk, her momentum carrying her a ways farther before she stopped, barely even registered. Panting for breath, the teenager clutched at her short hair, pressing her hands against her temples firmly. She cried out as images flashed through her mind, bringing a spike of pain with each one of them.

_By the power of the dark… the epitome of all evil… God of Fire, God of Forge… Against the powers of the moon kingdom and the princess of serenity…_ A silhouetted form stood above her, fire rising behind him as if she was staring at Satan himself in the bowels of hell. Though she could not see his face, she could sense the evil smile. He reached down toward her, and with a scream, she jumped up and began running.

The pain ceased suddenly, and it was then that Yami realized that the figure had been only in her head, that she had nothing to run from. After a few moments of coming to her senses, she returned to pick up her skateboard and started off, dazed, for the arcade and a familiar face. Perhaps merely the presence of friendship could keep away the evil figure, the voice, the pain… the fear….

* * * * *

"Dammit! What happened to you?" Andrew quickly rushed to Yami's side, concern evident in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Yami nodded. "I'm fine."

"You're bleeding! Here, sit down." After she settled into a booth only feet away, dropping her skateboard at her feet, Andrew rushed off to retrieve a First Aid kit. "What happened?" he asked as he returned and knelt next to her.

"Uh, fumbled on the skateboard."

"You shouldn't be skating barefoot. You'll regret that every time you stand up for a while. Look at this!" He carefully medicated the bottom of her left foot, where the skin had been scraped off the ball of her foot for an area with a good one-and-a-half-inch diameter. Bandaging her foot, he gently set it down before cleaning and applying a Band-Aid to a scrape on her knee. Moving on again, he winced at the sight of a deep gash across her knuckles. "I can't believe this…. What the hell were you doing on that thing, anyway?"

Yami shrugged. "Nothing difficult… I just lost my focus for a second there, I guess."

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd work harder to keep it from now on. If I was your parent, I wouldn't let you ride that thing anymore. Damn, they're gonna think we abused you or something."

"Could've been worse," Yami said with a shrug. "I've seen guys snap their arms like toothpicks and others have major concussions."

Andrew did not seem comforted by this statement. He glanced up at her disapprovingly. "And you still do this _why_?"

The girl smiled softly. "Because I know what it feels like to fly."

Andrew shook his head with a sigh. "Look, your clothes are all torn."

Yami grimaced. "Not even my clothes…"

After applying some antibiotics to a scrape on her cheek, Andrew carefully rolled up her sleeve. For a moment, he had to look away. Blood seeped from a long, ugly gash that stretched from the middle of her forearm to just above her right elbow.

When he was finished bandaging Yami's arm, Andrew gave the girl another looking-over before sighing and cleaning up the First Aid supplies. "Try to be more careful from now on, all right?" Yami nodded. "Promise?"

"I promise." With another sigh, Andrew returned to work, leaving the teenager alone.

Sighing, Yami unconsciously lifted her left hand to rub the bandage over her sore knuckles. Then, running a hand through her short hair, she leaned back in the booth. "Stang…" That place behind her forehead began to throb slightly as a soft hiss echoed in her mind, and she shook her head hard, pushing the feeling away, drowning out the pain with sheer will. "Not that again," she said firmly. "Not that…" The dreams, the pain, the voice… it was all more than she could stand. Ever since the battle…

Suddenly, Yami's eyes shot open. The battle! Could whatever was happening to her have had something to do with the Sailor Scouts' battle with the youma? Standing up, Yami grabbed her skateboard and headed for the door. "Thank you, Andrew!" she called as the door bells jingled, and she was gone before he could respond.

Ignoring the pain in her foot, Yami ran all the way to Serena's home. Bursting into Serena's bedroom, she looked around quickly, smiling with relief as she saw Luna sitting on the bed, staring at her. "In a bit of a rush, aren't we?" the cat inquired, swishing her black tail back and forth.

"Luna, I need your help."

"You look like you could use _somebody's_ help. What happened to you?"

"Uh, skateboard accident. But listen — I need to know if the youma battle from the other day has anything to do with what's happening in my head."

The cat looked thoughtful. "You're referring to the headache you received during the battle?"

Yami shook her head. "Not just that. I've been getting headaches ever since, all concentrated in this place behind my forehead, especially when I'm asleep. But it's getting worse. Do you remember the dreams that I told Serena about the first night I was here?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, I remember."

"Well, they stopped after I met Serena, but ever since the battle, I've been having them again. And they're getting worse too."

"Interesting…" the cat mused.

"Not really. Distressing is more like it."

"Well, that as well, but… there's something odd about the correlation of these dreams and headaches with the events in your life."

"What do you mean?"

"You say you woke up completely alone in the middle of a street the night before you and Serena met?"

Yami nodded. "Yes."

"That was the night all connections to your past disappeared, correct?" Another nod. "And that was the last time you had your childhood dream?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Did you ever have headaches before that night? Outside of sleep, I mean."

Yami shook her head. "No, I didn't."

Luna paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Hmm… You say that these dreams of yours have become worse? Perhaps it would help if you would tell me the contents of some of these dreams."

Yami hesitated. She was unsure if she wanted to confide in Luna that much. She was unsure if she wanted to confide in _anyone _that much. The dreams were strange to her… and even she could not figure them out. With no ideas about their meaning, she did not know that she wanted to go telling about them just for the hell of it. "I… I don't know… if…"

Luna nodded, saving the teen the trouble of trying to excuse her way out of describing her dreams. "I understand. I can wait until you are ready. Perhaps this will not even be necessary. The dreams and pains may be a normal psychological issue that have nothing to do with enemy powers."

Yami nodded, though she felt still unable to shake the feeling that her dreams and head pains were somehow connected to the youma battle. Her instincts told her this was true, and somehow all these events were too sequenced and organized to be coincidence. She felt as if fate was resting over her head, prepared to fall at the most desperate instant. Something was going on behind the wall of the unknown, something that she would never quite know until it was too late. Too late for what, she did not know, but this state of ignorance did not erase the dread that clutched at her heart. She knew a time of judgment was on its way, and she was left with this knowledge but with no way to prepare for it.

Sighing, the teenager sat down on the bed, burying her face in her hands. "Thank you for your help, Luna, but I'm not sure there are even answers to my questions."

"There is an answer to every question, Yami. Sometimes that answer is simply not clear to us."

"Which is a real problem in a world that bases everything on black and white."

"But when have you ever known things to be black and white?"

"I never have. That's the problem."

"Perhaps it is not the problem at all." Yami looked up at the cat, surprised. "Perhaps you merely need to learn to see through the gray fog."

* * * * *

The grace of God  
The fall of love  
The wrath of sin  
The purpose of  
Life inside  
This gilded cage  
Constantly  
Suppressing rage  
A sunless light  
Will filter down  
To sting the skin  
Like a thorny crown  
Just one hour  
Just one day  
To see the ocean  
And feel its waves  
To feel the wind  
And smell the air  
But why by the stars  
Would the gatekeeper care?

There was a jingle at the door, and Yami looked up from her place at the counter to see Serena walk in with Amy, Mina, and Lita following just steps behind. Yami smiled immediately at the sight of her friend, closing her book and setting the pen down. Serena, however, did not smile.

"What happened?" she asked immediately, rushing over. Yami sighed. She'd been getting that a lot lately.

"_Somebody_ was skateboarding without pads _or shoes_," Andrew said before Yami could answer. He flashed the teen a disapproving look, though she could see the concern mixed in behind it.

"Didn't I say it was dangerous?" All eyes turned to look at Lita, who was shaking her head. Then the brunette paused, a thoughtful look upon her face, which was followed by a grin. "But then again, since when did that faze me?"

Serena shook her head as she turned her attention back to Yami. "This is terrible! How on Earth did you do all this with just a skateboard?"

"It's not bad, really," Yami assured her. "And believe me, I've seen a lot worse as a result of skating. I just had a bit too much momentum built up for myself."

"I'd say." Amy's look was not unlike Andrew's, disapproving and even reprimanding. She looked just like a parent scolding a child. "What were you thinking, skating barefoot and without pads or even a helmet?"

"Uh…"

"Were you even thinking at all?" Two hands were planted firmly on the girl's slim hips, and Yami had to stop herself from laughing.

"I try not to." The other girls burst out laughing. Only Serena and Amy were left silent, staring at Yami, Amy in disapproval, Serena in confusion.

"Try not to what?" the blonde meatball head asked, cocking her head.

"Think." At this, Serena joined into the laughter, which was now directed at her as much as it was Yami's statement.

There was another jingle at the door, and Darien walked in. He smiled warmly at Serena but stopped as he saw the sandy-haired teen next to her. "What happened to you?"

_Sigh._ "I became well acquainted with the pavement today." Darien raised an eyebrow, glancing at Serena.

"She crashed on her skateboard," she blonde answered him, and realization dawned on his features.

"Dangerous sport," he said shrugging his shoulders slightly.

Yami nodded. "That's why they label it 'extreme.'" She grinned. "It is extreme, too. Let me tell ya, all this was worth it."

"At least someone thinks so," Serena said sourly. "I can't see what would be worth getting hurt like this."

Yami's eyes burned into Serena's. "Can't you? Of all people…" Serena looked surprised, then she averted her eyes.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Yami turned to look at Andrew, who was looking at her like she was crazy. Serena glanced up at him, blushing.

"Nothing at all," Yami replied, shrugging casually. "What would I be talking about?"

"I lost you," Andrew sighed, shaking his head. "Can't you ever make sense for a change?"

The teenager couldn't help but grin. "Now why would I do that?"

"Ah! I give up!" Darien and the girls all laughed at him. "Dare? Don't tell me _you_ understand their gibberish!"

"Girltalk is another language — but I haven't heard any girltalk today, have you?"

"But… you understand _her_?" With her unkempt sandy hair, a mischievous smirk, and a rather rough-looking scrape over her cheekbone, Yami looked like a perfect rogue. Darien could not help but chuckle.

"She's just about as cryptic as I am — of course I understand her."

Andrew threw up his hands, defeated. "I should've guessed. I'll repeat — I give up." As he moved off to wait on other customers, he was followed by laughter from six separate people. Ignoring them, he gave his attention to taking a young couple's order.

Darien moved to sit down at the counter right next to Yami, pulling Serena, who was still standing next to her friend, into his lap. She giggled, melting back into his embrace, and he kissed the top of her head.

_Here will be forged the face of death to the lovely Selene…_ Yami froze as the hissing voice whispered the words into her mind. After sorting through the words, she was struck with realization. "The moon goddess…"

"What?" Yami looked up at Serena, who was watching her curiously with cheerful blue eyes.

"N… nothing." _That even the love of precious Endymion cannot undo…_ "Endymion?" she whispered to herself.

Serena and Darien exchanged glances. "Yes?" Yami looked up, startled, into the face of a smirking Darien.

"Huh?"

He looked down at the girl in his arms. "I know she figured out about the senshi, but did you explain to her about the Silver Millennium?"

Serena shook her head. "No. I never thought about it."

Yami looked from one to the other. "What's going on?"

Glancing up at Darien one last time, Serena leaned closer to Yami, lowering her voice so that no one outside the three of them could hear. "Darien and I and all the scouts are all reincarnated from a thousand years before. During the Silver Millennium, I was Princess Serenity of the moon kingdom, and Darien was Prince Endymion of the Earth. The other girls are also reincarnated princesses of their own planets. Pretty cool, huh?"

Yami grinned. "The fairy tale." _Against the powers of the moon kingdom and the princess of serenity… _Her grin quickly faded and was replaced by an expression of horror.

"What is it?" The teenager looked up to concerned blue eyes. _Even the love of precious Endymion cannot undo…_

"I…" Yami took a trembling breath. "I think something's coming." Serena and Darien exchanged surprised, worried looks. "Serena, it has to do with my dreams… and my headaches. I don't know…" _Hephaestus, God of Fire, God of Forge…_ "Hephaestus! Does the name Hephaestus mean anything to you?"

Serena's face automatically brightened. "He forged Achilles' armor! I got that question right on the test."

"No, no. I mean… aside from in school. Does that name mean anything to you?"

The girl's face clouded with confusion. "No, nothing. Why?"

"I…" Yami could feel her mind clouding with confusion and dread. "I have to g… go…." She quickly scooted off her stool and ran out of the arcade. The fresh air helped to clear her head a little, but her mind was still swimming. Feeling something very akin to dizziness, Yami leaned against the wall, panting for breath.

Within a few seconds, Serena was by her side. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"I… I don't know. It's…" Yami raised a hand to her forehead, rubbing her temple. "I can't explain it, Serena, but…" She drew a slow, shaky breath. "I don't think our meeting was a coincidence. Well, maybe our becoming friends was, but… There's something going on, Serena, something inside of my head. The dreams have come back, only they're much worse now. And for the first time, I'm getting those same pains in my head _outside _of the dreams. I can't explain what happened at the youma battle, but I think the fight was somehow connected with it, triggered it somehow." She looked up at her friend, her dark eyes lost and scared. "I know something very bad, very dangerous is coming. I don't know what it is, but maybe you should stay away from me. I… I don't want you getting hurt."

"Yami, no way! Remember what I said about being a good friend?"

The sandy-haired teen looked down at her feet. "But I don't want to be a lousy friend to you by getting you killed. There's a darkness in the air… I can feel it getting closer."

"Hey, I thought Raye was the psychic."

"Well, I'm surprised she hasn't sensed it, then."

"I guess I'll have to consult the sacred fire." Yami jumped, looking up quickly to see Raye just a few meters away. "Always so on-edge?"

Yami forced a small grin. "Always."

"People make you nervous, right?"

"Exactly."

Raye shrugged, moving to stand next to the other two girls. "So what is it that I'm supposed to be sensing?"

"'Danger, Will Robinson,'" Yami replied. "Grave danger… soon."

"Well, that's not vague at all, is it? Any more details to this 'grave danger'?"

"Not much — it's connected to the pain in my head, that much is sure. I think it has something to do with Serena's life in the Silver Millennium, and — this is gonna sound weird — I think it has to do with Hephaestus, the blacksmith god."

"Hmm… blacksmith…" Serena looked as if she were in her own world. Yami stared at her for a long moment, trying to analyze her expression.

"Serena?"

"You know, Luna said something to me about a blacksmith the other day — right after the fight. Some psycho that my family exiled during the Silver Millennium who had the power to make something called the Anomaly Stone."

Raye stared at her, completely lost. "The what?"

"It's s'posed to affect the Silver Crystal, taking my powers as Sailor Moon, making me weak."

"Wait a second… weak like at the battle, when you nearly passed out?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah."

Raye sighed, though it sounded almost more like a growl. "Why didn't you _tell_ us about this? So, who was this blacksmith dude, anyway?"

The blonde shrugged. "I dunno. Luna never told me his name."

"_Find out_," Raye said forcefully. "I'll do what I can. Yami, if you get any more clues from… wherever it is you're finding this out… let me and the other scouts know. We'll need to figure this out together. I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it. We'll hook up later to talk."

With that, Raye disappeared into the arcade. With a heavy sigh, Yami slid down the wall, resting her head in her hands. A few seconds later, the arcade door opened, and Lita came out, looking around before her eyes fell on the pair of friends. "What's going on? Are you guys okay?"

"Theoretically," Serena replied.

"You guys left so fast, and then Raye just came in talking about how you" — she looked down at Yami, who was now gazing up at her wearily — "say there's some kind of threat coming, something to do with an… Anomaly Stone?"

"Of life fading to black," Yami whispered to herself. In her head, she heard her own words echo. _And the light will slowly die…_

"What?"

"Nothing."

Lita sighed. "I wish you would stop doing that. It gets confusing and… kinda creepy after a while."

"Sorry."

"We'll have to have a scout get-together later," Serena said, "and figure what's going on. Maybe Luna and Artemis will know something."

"Don't they always?" Lita put in.

"Pretty much."

Yami couldn't help a short laugh. "You talk about creepy — now _that's_ creepy."

"I think it might be time for Yami to go stay with you," Serena suggested. "Sooner or later, my parents are going to start wondering when her parents are getting back from their 'business trip,' and I'd prefer to keep questions along that line to a minimum."

"I'll second the questions thing," Yami put in.

"Ok, so after tonight, then?" The brunette looked from Serena to Yami. After exchanging a quick glance, they both nodded. "Snap! That works for me. Just bring your stuff over tomorrow after school."

Yami could not help a laugh. "That won't take long."

"Well," Serena sighed. "I think it might be time for us to head home."

_Home_, Yami thought to herself. _What home?_

"I'll let Darien know you're leaving. He might want to say goodbye."

"Speak of the devil," Yami said with a laugh as a dark-haired young man stepped out of the arcade, catching sight of the girls.

"Oh, well, nevermind. See you guys later." Lita disappeared back inside the arcade.

"You're leaving?" Darien's eyes were sad.

Serena nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, I think we've had enough excitement for one day."

"I guess… well… you don't want to go to the park or anything? Walk around awhile?" His eyes were so sad, hopeful. Yami could feel her heart crack, and she absolutely refused to come between any of Darien's time with Serena.

"You know, I think a walk in the park sounds pretty good. Or, you know, I could just hang around the lake if you guys wanna spend some time alone."

Serena looked down at her friend, her eyes unsure. "But I don't want to leave you all alone…. What will you do?"

Yami smirked. "Skateboard?"

"I think not! Not after what happened today. Besides, we'd have to go home to get your skateboard, and there's no way my mom would let you skate again today if she saw you like that."

"Look, does it really matter what I do? I can just take some time to think or maybe write…." She paused. "Hold on a second…"

Clearing his throat, Darien held out a little book with a bunny on the cover. "You forgot this."

With a grateful smile, Yami took the book. "Thank you. Come on, Serena. We're just going to the park — what could possibly happen?"

"Must I justify that with an answer?"

"Okay, good point, but… you get my gist, right?"

"The woman knows what she's talking about," Darien said pointedly, flashing Serena an irresistible grin. After that, the girl had no choice but to give in to his wishes. Yami smiled at her success.

A few minutes later, the trio was at the park, and Yami split off from Serena and Darien, agreeing to meet them at the pier at sunset.

"Don't get into any more accidents until I see you again." The cheerful blonde's words still echoed in Yami's head, and she could not help but chuckle.

The park was peaceful. For once, very little sound invaded Yami's senses — even the voice in her own head seemed to have been silenced. Finding her way to the shore of the lake, she sat down by its edge, dipping her unhurt foot into the cool water. It seemed strange, the beauty and innocence of the world around her. It was like Serena had said — a miracle. Yami wished she could be a part of that miracle. Instead, she felt as if she was in some sort of alternate version of reality, looking at all these things from the outside. Serena and all her friends were on the inside, happy and pure-hearted, still able to touch love. The teenager wondered if she was meant to feel these things. It was as if she were floating down her own isolated river, separated from everyone else in the world. She felt she had a part to play in it all, but somehow she could not be a part of the picture, of the life going on around her. It was strange, she knew, but she could not help it, as much as she longed to.

Sighing, Yami kicked at the water before standing up. She continued walking through the park. It seemed like forever and yet, at the same time, no time at all before the light in the sky began to dim, and she figured it was time to head for the pier. She had just started that way when she heard a familiar voice through the trees to her right. Careful so as not to make a sound, Yami moved closer to the sound of Serena's voice until she could see Serena and Darien through the leaves and branches. They did not see her… or anything else other than each other.

Serena was wrapped tightly in Darien's arms, her small hands resting lightly on his chest as she looked up at him. His head was tilted down so that their faces hovered only inches apart. Their voices were soft but audible, filled with a love Yami had only dreamed of but never imagined feeling.

"If there is danger ahead, I want you to be as careful as possible. I don't want to lose you." Darien reached up to stroke the girl's cheek gently. "You're all I have left."

Serena smiled up at him, their gazes locked so passionately… it was as if even the treachery of time could not tear them apart. "I'll never ever leave you, Darien. I love you too much."

"I love you more than the air I breathe… and I don't want you to get hurt." He inched closer, their warm breaths mingling together as their lips hovered so close….

"Darien…" The whispered word was all that escaped before she was silenced by a passionate kiss. Rising on her tiptoes, Serena's hands slid up his chest to wrap around his neck as they both melted more fully into the kiss. Yami could feel her breath catch in her throat, and she could feel just by watching the two the love they so deeply felt for one another.

_Here will be forged the face of death to the lovely Selene that even the love of precious Endymion cannot undo__…._ Tears welled in Yami's eyes, and she tore her gaze away from Serena and Darien, quickly walking away, leaving the scene behind. As she grew farther away, she could feel the silent tears slide down her cheeks. Fate had brought the two together, and fate now waited behind a dark curtain. If she brought death to this love so pure and perfect, brought tragedy to the lives of those she held most dear, she knew she could never live another second in this world. The lives of these people were too precious for her to comprehend. She was unsure if her life had a purpose or not, and at this point, she was not sure she wanted to know. All she wanted was for her friends to be happy, whatever that meant for her.

The sun once again painted the waters of the lake in a brilliant display. For a moment, Yami wanted to die, to leave those she loved in peace, never to face this impending doom she felt resting over her own head. But her death would fix nothing, she knew. Destiny would not be stopped by an act so rash and foolish. Only love could wash away the tears of the world. _Only love._

* * * * *

"Oh, Yami! What happened to you? Are you all right? What _happened_?"

The teenager sighed inwardly. "I'm just fine, Mrs. Tsukino. I had a skateboarding accident. That's all."

"That's _all_? Look at you! What will your parents think?"

"Hey, what's going on?" asked a young voice from the foot of the stairs.

"What's going on? Yami had an accident on that skateboard today, Sammy. I don't want you on that thing again."

"Aw, Mom!"

"Not a chance! If I catch you skateboarding, you're grounded for a month. Do you hear?"

"This isn't fair!" The boy stormed up to his room.

"It's really not bad, Mrs. Tsukino. I'll be just fine," Yami said softly. "Besides, Sammy won't be going fast enough to get banged up like this. He can barely even roll down the driveway."

"Not bad, indeed! I'll have a fine time explaining this to your parents."

Yami could feel a jolt of fear at these words. "You don't have to explain anything to them, Mrs. Tsukino, really. I skate all the time — they know it's dangerous. And I'm not even hurt very bad."

"Still, I'd rather have a talk with them. When are they coming home?"

"Well, t… tomorrow, but I'd really prefer it if you wouldn't, please. My parents usually wouldn't make a big deal out of this, but if you call them, they might. Please…"

Mrs. Tsukino sighed. She glanced at Serena, who shrugged. "It's not that big a deal, Mom. She's a little scraped up — could've been worse." Yami flashed her friend a grateful look. She knew that Serena was as concerned as her mother, but she was lying about her opinion and feelings just to help out.

Finally, the woman gave in, and Yami breathed a sigh of relief. She could certainly do without people asking whether she was all right for the next few days.

* * * * *

"Goodnight, Yami," Serena said as she stretched before snuggling under the covers.

Yami finished writing in her little book and set the pen down softly. Closing the book, she flipped off the light before saying, "Goodnight, Serena. Sleep well." Laying her head down on the soft pillow, she could feel sleep creep up to dim her senses until conscious thought ceased and the world of the subconscious drew forth to take control of her mind. It was not long before darkness covered all, and both girls slipped away into their own separate dreamworlds, as different as they were, as far apart in likeness as the desert from the sea.

Oh, hero of the stars  
Ai no senshi  
The light shines down  
Your heart's aglow  
The sun will dim  
The night will grow  
The darkness spreads  
To overcome the day  
When all else flee  
You will stay  
To fight the fight  
Until the end  
Be carried high  
By the wind  
The mountains will  
Bow down to you  
The waves cry out  
To your heart so true  
The clouds will break  
And light your face  
Pure and innocent  
Filled with grace  
Oh, hero of the stars  
Lone symbol of love  
You are what dreams  
Are all made of

* * * * *

Serena awoke in the middle of the night. She thought the cries that had woken her were a part of some kind of nightmare, but then she realized that they were coming from right next to her.

"Yami?" She reached out a hand to wake her friend.

"No, Serena. Don't."

"But, Luna, I…"

"It is in Yami's dreams that we will find our answers. We have no other source of knowledge for these coming events, these premonitions of hers. The sooner we know what is coming, the more ready we can be to stop it. I fear that if we are not ready in time, your life could be the cost. You were lucky last time. Next time may not be so lucky."

"But, Luna, listen…"

"Yami's dreams are the source of her pain."

"Exactly!"

"But until she finds the meaning of those dreams, they will continue to plague her. They will not stop until the dream is complete. By waking her, you can save her from pain now, but you will only prolong her suffering."

Serena saw that the cat was right and lowered her eyes in defeat. She shuddered as Yami shrieked in pain, wishing desperately to end it by simply waking her friend, but she could not. Luna was right — there was no getting around it. Pulling the covers tight around herself, she clamped her eyes shut, trying desperately to block out the cries of agony. Then suddenly all went silent. Serena shivered in the dark, hearing nothing but the sound of her own breathing. She wasn't sure if she liked the change or not. For in the silence, a monster seemed to be waiting, waiting for its chance to close its fist around its prey, who were also waiting silently in the dark.


	8. Chapter 7: From Hell’s Gate

Chapter 7: From Hell's Gate

I pass from light into the kingdom of eternal night.

- Dante's _The Inferno_

Yami gasped, her eyes snapping open, as a spike of pain shot through her head to disappear instantaneously. Shaking her head, she climbed out of bed, glancing out the window to see the sunlight already filtering in. Trotting downstairs, she found Serena just pouring a bowl of cereal for breakfast. "Good morning!" The blonde was beaming, as usual. "Sleep well?"

Yami offered a weary smile and a subtle shrug. "'We rest; a dream has power to poison sleep. We rise; one wand'ring thought pollutes the day. We feel, conceive, or reason; laugh or weep, embrace fond woe, or cast cares away; it is the same: for, be it joy or sorrow, the path of its departure is still free. Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; naught may endure but mutability!'"

Serena stared at her friend for a long moment, stunned into a rare silence. "Wow. Where did that come from?"

"It's from _Frankenstein_," Yami replied, moving to sit down to breakfast with her friend.

Serena cocked her head. "The horror movie?" She received a laugh in reply.

"No! The novel by Mary Shelley."

"And you _memorized_ it?"

Yami shrugged. "I've always been good at remembering quotes. Plus I've read _Frankenstein_ like a million times."

"Umm… why?"

The teenager laughed. "I don't know. I liked it. I think I'm one of the few, though. Most people give up after the first sentence. Although… it is a very intimidating first sentence."

"Do you have _that_ memorized?"

"Yes, actually, I do. 'You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.'"

"You know, I didn't understand half those words you just said. I think I'd give up after the first sentence too. How can you read that?"

Yami shrugged. "I don't know…. I found it somehow… relatable in ways."

"_Relatable_? How?"

"I don't know. Stop it with the questions!"

Just then, a drowsy young boy padded into the kitchen, stretching and rubbing his eyes. "Stang! This is too early to be getting up!" Yami could not help but giggle at his choice of terminology. He had learned the word from her, she was certain. She must've said it a few times during his skating lessons. She found it slightly amusing.

"For once, amazing as it may sound," Serena said, resting her chin in her palm, "the little dweeb is right. Are you really sure it's morning? I don't think I slept long enough for the night to be over."

Yami laughed. "Not a morning person, huh? Well then peace! 'Yon light is not day-light, I know it, I: it is some meteor that the sun exhales.'"

"Could you stop that?"

The sandy-haired teen laughed again. "Hey, I figured a romantic like you would enjoy a little Shakespeare."

"I think I'd prefer the modern edition. You know, the one with Leo DiCaprio."

"In which they don't change the dialogue," Yami countered. "Sorry, but they're just as confusing in that one."

"Well, maybe _Westside Story_ then."

"I suppose you would enjoy a good musical."

"Yup. Hey, have you changed those bandages yet this morning?"

"No, not since last night."

"Here, I'll help. I'm running a little early today, anyway — go figure." Getting up from the table, the girls headed for the bathroom.

Gently removing the bandage from her arm first, Yami could not help but be pleasantly surprised. "Huh… that's weird. Look at how well it's healing." The long, deep gash did not look nearly as horrid as it had the day before. It was already nicely scabbed over, the edges quickly healing up, and the skin around it was no longer pink and tender. She found the same to be true with her hand, and her foot was better still.

"Well, that's convenient. I guess Andrew's a good doctor," Serena giggled.

"Seems so."

"I guess it's time to head for school now," the girl groaned. "Wanna come along?"

"Sure, why not?" Together, the girls set out.

"Gee, it's gonna be weird not having you around anymore," Serena said thoughtfully as they walked. "I'm so used to you being there…. Now there'll be no one to hang out with but Sammy!"

"Yeah," Yami said softly. She could feel sadness tugging at her heart. Never had she had such a close friend before…. "You know, you're my first real friend. Hell, who am I gonna talk to now?"

"I'll still be around. Just come to the arcade. And we'll hang out all the time. Besides, you and Lita seem to be good enough friends already."

"Yup." With that, Yami dropped the subject, not particularly wanting to talk about it any longer. She knew the only reason she'd gotten through the dreams so far was that Serena had been right there through it all. She'd never known what it felt like for a friend to _be there_…. It felt like a kiss from heaven.

Yami stopped walking as a sudden wave of dizziness swept over her. "Are you all right?" she heard Serena ask, but the words did not register in her mind. Her vision became blurry. She shook her head to try to clear her mind, which worked momentarily. But then dizziness gripped her again, and she had to clamp her eyes shut to block out the world's sickening spinning.

With no more warning than this, blackness crept up with amazing speed, and Yami passed out, falling limply to the ground. "Yami!" cried a terrified Serena, immediately at her friend's side, trying desperately to wake her.

_By the power of the dark… By the righteousness of vengeance… By the epitome of all evil… By the black magic endowed to me… Against the powers of the moon kingdom and the princess of serenity…_ _In the name of Hephaestus, the God of Fire, the God of Forge, may the light of the Silver Crystal fade into darkness! Let the tears fall from the eyes of Endymion onto the lifeless face of Selene._

_Go forth, my child, and be the shadow that eclipses the moon._

Yami gasped as she jerked awake.

"Are you okay? What's wrong? Yami!"

Quickly getting to her feet, to Serena's surprise, Yami took a few shaky steps back. "You… you don't wanna be late for school."

"I'm already late. Tell me what's wrong, please!" She stood up, her blue eyes filled with worry, closing the distance between herself and her friend.

"You should get to school," Yami said quickly, pushing Serena gently but firmly toward the school building. Before Serena could reply, she turned away quickly and was gone, ignoring Serena's calls following after her as she disappeared around a corner.

Leaning against a wall, Yami buried her face in her hands, trying to catch her breath. It was as if her heart had stopped, frozen in fear. "Dammit… Dammit!" She hit the wall, hard, before collapsing into a crouch. She was glad later that she hadn't had the presence of mind to punch the brick wall, possibly further injuring her hand. While she would have appreciated the pain at the moment, it would only bring further inquiries later. Wrapping her arms around herself, as if trying to protect herself from some outside force of evil — though she knew well that the force of evil dwelt inside — Yami could feel tears edge their way from her eyes. Quickly, she wiped them away. "None of that," she told herself.

Pushing herself up to her feet, Yami walked around aimlessly for a long while, simply trying to clear her thoughts, before finally heading to the arcade. Without even so much as saying hello to Andrew, she randomly chose a booth and fell into it with a heavy sigh, folding her hands on the table and resting her chin on them.

Yami replayed the words from her last dream in her head time and again, trying to make sense of them. What really bothered her, scared her nearly to death, was the last sentence the strange but now familiar voice had uttered. "'My child…'" she whispered to herself. "'Go forth, my child…' _What the hell_ is that supposed to mean?" With yet another sigh, she let her forehead thump onto the table.

"Geesh, it's still only morning, and you already look like you've had a long day." Yami looked up to see Andrew slide into the booth across from her.

"Hey, Andrew," she said, offering a weak excuse for a smile.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Yami shook her head. "No."

"You need to talk to someone. You know, I'm gettin' kinda worried about you."

"Don't worry about me. I'm not the one who needs it."

"And who needs it?" he asked dubiously.

"I _could_ tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Andrew chuckled. "Hey, at least your battle wounds seem to be healing well."

"Yup. Now I can brag about how I survived a fight with an evil skateboard."

"'Fight to the death' sounds better."

"Yeah, but I think they'll know the difference when they see my skateboard still intact."

He held up a finger. "Only the people who knew you before the epic battle. You can always brag to new people."

"New people? There's a laugh! What are you on? And can I have some?"

Andrew looked slightly disapproving of her pessimism. "Hey, you're a perfectly likeable person. You just need to learn how to approach people."

"Never gonna happen. Have you _seen_ me around new people? It's not pretty. If Serena weren't so happy and outgoing — I swear that girl could befriend Jack the Ripper without an effort — I wouldn't be sitting here with you now. I wouldn't have any friends to speak of. Making friends isn't my area of expertise."

"What exactly is your area of expertise?" Andrew asked curiously.

Yami thought about it for a moment. "Hmm… probably skateboarding most of all…" This drew a laugh. "Hey! I'm actually good at it! You know, I'd never been hurt worse than a skinned knee or elbow until yesterday."

"Well, I'd prefer that you stick to the skinned knees from now on. I don't want any repeats of yesterday."

"Me neither," Yami muttered, not mentioning that her reasons behind the comment were far different from his.

"What else?"

"Uh… writing poems, I guess."

"Which you won't let me read," Andrew added pointedly.

"Exactly. I don't want to expose you to that kind of pessimistic thinking. They're not that good anyway."

"You have such a dark outlook on life," he said, shaking his head almost sadly. "You need to look at some of the good things in this world for a change."

_Oh, hero of the stars…_ The words echoed in her mind, and she smiled slightly but genuinely. "I know there's good in the world. The question is whether there's good in me."

"Is that all? Well, I can answer that for you right now — yes, definitely. Feel better now?"

"No."

"Hey…" Andrew placed a finger below Yami's chin, lifting her face so their eyes met. "You have love in your heart. Listen to it, and you can do no wrong."

Yami sighed. "What if the wrong can't be stopped by free will?"

"It can. Trust me." With that, he stood from the booth and left her alone. With a sigh, she dropped her head back to the table.

"I hope to hell you're right, Andrew."

* * * * *

Serena collapsed against the thick trunk of the tree. "Finally lunch break! I thought it would never get here."

"Amy, put that stupid book down already!" Mina threw a piece of her dumpling at the girl to get her attention. "You're making me sick just watching you."

"I need to study for my test sixth period," the blue-haired girl insisted.

"What's the point?" Lita put in. "You already know all the answers, anyway. Heck, you probably know more right answers than your teacher!"

Serena sighed, lacing her fingers together and resting her hands over her eyes to block out the bright sun.

"Serena? Are you okay? You're not even eating your lunch." The blonde uncovered her eyes to meet Amy's concerned gaze.

"We know something's wrong if you're not eating at every chance," Lita said matter-of-factly, "particularly a meal."

Serena sighed again, pushing herself into a sitting position. "It's Yami. She's been acting totally weird. This morning, she passed out while we were walking to school, and when she woke up, she wouldn't even talk to me. She just told me to get to school and left. She seemed really freaked, though. I can't figure it out!"

"Do you think it has something to do with these premonitions of hers?" Lita asked.

"Well, she keeps having weird dreams. Something about the dreams makes her head hurt, though I don't have any idea why. I always thought you weren't supposed to feel anything in a dream."

"That's not true," Amy said, shaking her head. "The brain can stimulate any sense, not just vision, in a dream. That includes feeling."

"You know what's really weird, though," Serena continued, "is that they're all virtually the same — the dreams, I mean. Yami always talks about this weird voice she hears and a man's silhouette standing above her, and she says it's always cold, though she can see fire, and there's a constant pain behind her forehead. Sometimes — I think at least once every time she dreams — the pain increases very sharply."

"I wonder…"

"What is it, Mina?" Serena asked her fellow blonde.

"Well, if all these dreams are the same, it would seem to me that they'd be more than just dreams. Maybe they're some kind of prophecy… or a memory of some sort."

Serena blinked. "A memory? How could it be a memory when Yami has had a normal life up until a week ago? I don't know how they could be memories."

"Guys…" Everyone looked at Amy, who seemed to be slightly troubled. She shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting around between those of her friends. "Has anyone else noted that her name means 'darkness'?"

"But her last name is Hikari — it means 'light.' I noticed that the first time she told me," Serena said on her friend's behalf.

"Why would any parents name their kid Darkness?" Lita asked, ignoring Serena's comment.

"Maybe they didn't," Amy said.

"What?" exclaimed three different voices in unison.

"We don't know anything about her past. Her parents mysteriously disappeared a week ago, and there's another family living in her house. But it appears the family has been living there for some time. It seems to me there's something wrong with Yami's memory. Why _would_ anyone name their child Darkness? How could her parents just disappear without a trace, leaving her with no friends, no family, no home?" There was a brief pause, no eyes moving from Amy's face. "Why is she having all these dreams, the same dream every time she sleeps?"

"And what happened at the battle the other day?" Lita put in, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Mina also had a sudden epiphany. "Serena, didn't your sudden weakness kick in at about the same time Yami's headache did?"

Serena fidgeted uncomfortably. "I guess… I remember hearing her scream when I first started feeling dizzy."

"And when we carried her away from the battle, your weakness went away." Amy's expression was one of progressing clarity, as if things were beginning to come together. Serena did not understand what could possibly be coming together.

"Are you saying that Yami's headaches are what took away my strength? That doesn't make much sense."

"It is a strange coincidence, though, you have to admit," Mina said.

"Then again, maybe we should give Yami the benefit of the doubt," Lita said on their friend's behalf, much to Serena's relief. "After all, they could just be dreams."

"Well…" Serena hesitated. "Yami said herself she thought they were more than dreams. But it doesn't mean they're connected to what happened to me. She gets headaches all the time, and I feel fine."

"Nevertheless, I think we should be careful," Amy said.

"I have a better idea."

"Huh?" All gazes snapped to Serena, whose blue eyes burned with passion.

"I think we should be good friends."

* * * * *

Friends don't lie  
Then what am I?  
Can this evil reign  
And my heart attain  
This goodness wrought  
Of love not bought  
Of one pure heart  
Wherefore art  
Thy still my friend  
Despite this wind  
The storm of hate  
Flows from Hell's gate  
To tear apart  
Thine friendly heart  
I wish I could  
I surely would  
Put an end to fear  
And stop your tears  
But I am pawn of fortune  
My fight cannot be won  
For I am the cause  
Through my inward flaws  
Of this ill strike of fate  
And storm from Hell's gate

* * * * *

The flames leapt high in the air, seeming to have a life of their own. With arms outstretched and eyes closed, a young Shinto priestess knelt before the fire.

The heat stung the girl's face and arms, but she ignored the sensation. Instead, she poured her heart and soul into the fire before her. Lives could depend on her as she and all those she loved balanced desperately on the edge of uncertainty and truth. She planned to bring them down on the right side. If she did not, her dear friends could be the ones to pay the penalty for her failure.

"Sacred fire," Raye breathed, her violet eyes opening to stare into the flames. "I ask your help now, sacred fire. Tell me what danger awaits us in the dark and what invisible force is attacking Sailor Moon in her most critical moments." She drew a slow breath. "I also ask you this — who is Yami, what is it that ails her, and what fortune is she meant to bring into our lives? I beseech you, sacred fire. Please answer me these."

Raye gasped as an evil laughter grew from the crackling flames. At first it was quiet, and she was not sure if she'd heard it or not. But as is grew louder, it sent uncontrollable chills down her spine. An emotion that felt like a mixture of terror and anger welled up inside of her.

"Who are you?" Raye asked in a demanding tone, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

The laughter continued. In fact it grew louder, and whoever was behind it neglected to answer the question, feeding Raye's aggravation. Then the laughing stopped, and a man's voice took its place. "You, princess of the planet of war, will be on the front lines when the moonlight is extinguished, and then your tears will only serve to kindle your pain." The words gripped at Raye's heart, and she found herself rendered speechless. With one final burst of laughter, the voice disappeared, and Raye passed out.


	9. Chapter 8: Go Forth

Chapter 8: Go Forth

There was a snap, and the skateboard was in the air, rider performing a perfect kickflip, and then a loud _clack_ as it landed. Yami leaned back on the kicktail, popping the board upward at an angle, balancing on the back wheels. With a grin, the girl maintained her balance, holding her hands slightly away from her sides, her fingers curled in, as the board wobbled slightly but did not fall. She happened to look up in time to see Serena and her friends approaching. Her smile widening, Yami stomped the tail, grabbing the trucks as they popped obediently into her hand.

"You're kidding! Skateboarding again already?" Amy looked amazed. Yami could hardly help but giggle.

"You're braver than I am," Serena said, shaking her head. "Either that or just crazy."

"Crazy, definitely," Yami replied quickly. "Besides, I'm definitely not braver than you." Together, the five girls entered the arcade. Yami had been skating just outside of it, simply wanting something to keep her occupied while she waited.

"Thank God!" Andrew said as he saw the group enter. "I couldn't talk her out of going out there to skateboard — said she needed something to pass time 'til you got here. The girl is nuts!"

"See? I told you I was crazy."

"Don't start thinking that's a good thing," Andrew interjected.

"Don't think for a second that I would start thinking," Yami retorted with a grin. "And by the way, I do think it's a good thing. Yeesh, you're just like a parent, Andrew!"

"I would say more like a protective older brother," Serena put in thoughtfully. Yami nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'd have to say you're right about that. He's _just_ like an older brother!"

"I wouldn't emphasize _older_ brother," a male voice said from behind them. "That sounds a little… Well brother, definitely." Serena immediately whirled around and launched herself joyously into Darien's arms. In the midst of their conversation, they hadn't noticed when he'd walked in. With a warm, loving smile that only Serena could draw from the man, he kissed the top of her head before guiding her to a booth not far away. The other girls moved to join them, all four sliding in on the opposite side.

"What'll it be?" Andrew asked. "Don't even try to tell me that this group of girls isn't going to order anything." He seemed to give Serena a pointed look as he said this.

"Sundaes for everyone," Darien said. "I'll let you girls take it from there." There was an immediate flow of chatter as each ordered her own sundae, and Darien finally ordered his last of all. Andrew promptly left with a last friendly wink directed their way, and Yami turned to Darien with a slight smile.

"Thanks," the sandy-haired teen said with a nod.

"No prob. Anything to keep my Meatball Head happy." He grinned down at Serena, running a hand through her flowing blond hair. She blushed and gazed back up at him lovingly before very suddenly shifting her attention to her friends across the table.

"So," she said with a beaming smile, startling Yami with her abrupt leap from google-eyes to chatterbox. "Anything interesting happen today, Yami?" Why was everyone always interested in her day? Just because she didn't go to school, it was supposed to be eventful? But then again, her life really _was_ eventful of late.

The teenager could not help a small laugh. "You mean after you hit the doors of the school building? Nope, nothing."

She immediately regretted bringing up the events of that morning. Serena's face gained a concerned look, and the girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Lita, thankfully, changed the conversation's trajectory.

"Have you got all your stuff ready to bring over to my place?"

"I've got my skateboard right here and…" She paused, her eyes traveling away from Lita as Andrew showed up again, balancing a tray filled with sundaes. "Hey, Andrew, do you still have my book?"

"Behind the counter," he said, setting down the last of the desserts. "I'll go get it."

"Is that all?" Lita stared at her in disbelief.

"Yep, that sums it up."

Andrew was back a moment later, handing the little book to its rightful owner. "Pretty good poems, if I may say so."

"Liar," Yami retorted with a smirk. "You didn't read any."

"Oh yeah? And how would you know?"

"Because you haven't given me one concerned look since I came back in here."

"Why would he be concerned?" Serena asked, cocking her head.

"Apparently, happy people aren't allowed to read Yami's poems," Andrew said, giving the sandy-haired teen a pointed look.

"Then I guess Serena will never see the inside of that book," Darien said with a laugh, looking down on the girl lovingly. Serena looked across the table at Yami.

"Can I read your poems?"

Yami shifted uncomfortably. Serena was the only person who always understood, no matter what. But she did not want to put any more of a burden on her. "If you want to, I guess…"

"Hey!" Andrew feigned offense. "She's more optimistic than I am! How come you're letting her read them?"

Yami's eyes glistened with a kind of heavy sadness. "Because she was my first friend. She's my best friend." Without another word, she slid the book across the table toward Serena. The blonde promptly pushed it back.

"Not here. I'll read them later." Yami nodded and set the book down in her lap before picking up her spoon and digging into the ice cream before her.

The air immediately filled with light-hearted chatter. "Hey, Serena," Lita said in the midst of it all. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place for dinner. You know, just the three of us, hangin' out for a while."

"Sure," Serena replied happily. "I'll have to run home and tell my mom first, though, or she might worry." Having long since finished her sundae, she promptly decided, "I'll do that now."

"I'll walk you," Darien said quickly, tightening his arm around her waist. Within twenty seconds, they were gone, leaving the remaining four girls behind to socialize.

Lita and Mina, who were sitting closest to the end, promptly moved over to the side of the booth that the happy couple had just vacated. "Well, might as well get comfortable," Lita said. "They'll be a while." The chatter immediately resumed, and Yami settled back in the booth to listen, content as always to just remain silent.

"So how many answers _did_ you get right on that test, Amy?" Mina asked, feigning curiosity. Amy neglected to reply, but her reddening cheeks said plenty, and the other three girls burst into laughter.

"Raye!" Yami was the first to notice the raven-haired girl walk in. "Are you all right? You look tired."

"You're one to talk."

Yami sighed. "Granted. Long day or something?"

"Long? Well, no. Time seems to be… of an incredibly short supply. Rough, though… extremely." After having said that much, she was insistently nondescript, so the others eventually dropped it. Sliding in next to Mina, Raye was uncharacteristically silent throughout the conversation, casting glances in Yami's direction every now and then. Yami noticed Raye's looks, but to all appearances she remained oblivious. She wondered what had stimulated the girl's suspicion, but considering her own questions concerning her own situation, she did not blame Raye at all for her feelings. She was simply surprised it hadn't come sooner. The thought made her feel even more estranged from the group, but somehow it made her feel more sure about herself, knowing that what happened to her did not matter at all as long as everything came out all right for her friends.

After having been gone for at least an hour, Darien and Serena returned. "About time," Andrew said with a smirk. "You, mister, forgot to pay your bill."

"Sorry 'bout that," Darien said, not seeming too sorry at all, as he paid Andrew for the sundaes. "I got a little sidetracked."

"I'll bet," the blond man laughed. Serena and Darien moved into the booth next to Amy.

"So what did we miss?" Serena asked immediately. "Hi, Raye. Been here long?"

"Yeah, for hours. Where have you guys been?" The others laughed, Mina bumping Raye's shoulder with her own.

"You didn't miss anything," Amy said. "Just a lot of talking."

The world spins 'round  
Oblivious to fate  
On solid ground  
That now begins to shake  
The sky falls down  
On those who wait  
Innocents drown  
In evil's dark wake  
Great bird in the sky  
Swoop down to the Earth  
Erase all the whys  
With love's endless worth  
Humanity cries  
Under your silhouette  
Though your heart's never lied  
On its death dark'll pirouette  
Oh, blessings of fate  
Oh once 'til the end  
Close evil's floodgate  
And broken hearts mend

"What are you writing?"

"Nothing." Yami snapped the book shut, looking up to smile at Serena, who stared uncertainly back until her expression finally broke into that of a smile. Yami released a sigh of relief. The world was not right when that ever-so-happy face did not smile.

Yet again, the chattering resumed. But Yami was having trouble concentrating on it this time. Her mind wandered elsewhere, and the aura of happiness seemed almost to smother her where she sat. With a sigh, she excused herself and slid out of the booth, saying that she was going to skateboard. Once outside, she propped the board against the wall and sat down next to it, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, letting the outside air and relative quiet clear her mind.

Despite her efforts to keep her mind alert, Yami drifted off into some state between consciousness and unconsciousness. Rather than the coming of her dream, which she had once again come to expect every time she slept, she had the distinct sensation of falling. Rather than physically falling, it felt as if she was falling through time and space. Then she felt cold, hard, damp pavement beneath her. With a spike of pain, she jolted awake with a gasp, seeing nothing at first but darkness. Then she really woke up.

Sitting bolt upright, Yami quickly remembered where she was. Shaking her head, she tried to shake off the… dream? Was that what it was? But no — not completely at least. She remembered the night she had woken up cold and alone in the streets. But what was that sensation that had come before it?

With a sigh, Yami leaned back against the wall again. Now that she was leaving Serena's home, she felt as though she were alone again, though she knew that wasn't true. But she could not get rid of the feeling of isolation, no matter what she did. Even bringing to mind the smiling face of her dear friend, that blonde, cheery meatball head, only made her feel more distant from the world.

With another sigh, feeling her soul growing more burdened with each passing breath, Yami picked up her book, which she'd set down by her skateboard, and began to write, remembering the night her life had shattered.

Yesterday there was warmth  
Yesterday there was light  
Yesterday the sun was out  
Yesterday the answers were there  
Yesterday people cared  
Yesterday I had love  
Yesterday I had family  
Yesterday I had a home  
Yesterday things were clear  
Yesterday I had no fear  
Yesterday I had no worries  
Yesterday I laughed out loud  
Yesterday dark was just a dream  
Yesterday I saw the sky  
Yesterday I could fly  
Yesterday I had a song  
Yesterday there was no wrong  
Yesterday there was warmth  
Yesterday there was light  
Yesterday… I lost last night

Dropping the pen and the book, Yami allowed her head to fall back against the wall with an audible thump.

"Trying to punish the wall?" She opened her eyes to see a grinning Darien sit down next to her.

"It was being a bad wall."

"So, is this how the experts skateboard?"

Yami shook her head with a sigh. "I never came out here to skate. But then, I guess you knew that."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Fair enough. I had to try, though. I figured you'd need someone more mature than a junior high school girl and less optimistic than Andrew, as good as he is with talking to people."

"Well, I appreciate the effort. But I don't think there's anyone who can solve my problems."

"Like what happened to your parents?"

Yami sighed. "No, I think I've gotten to a point where I've accepted they're not coming back."

"Well, sometimes you don't need answers to your problems. All you need is a friend. And the problems just work themselves out."

Yami looked up at him and smiled sadly but genuinely. "Thanks, Darien. Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right." He grinned down at the girl, then he noticed her fingers drift unconsciously to rest lightly on the cover of her little book. "Hey, would you write me a poem?"

Yami smirked. "I'll think about it."

"Good enough for me. Now what do you say we head back inside? Serena was worried about you. I think it might be nice to put her mind at ease."

With a hesitant nod, the girl rose, picking up her skateboard as she did so. "Okay. Sure, why not?"

Darien put a hand on Yami's shoulder, coaxing her averted eyes to meet his. "Hey… I know what it's like to be alone. That's one thing we have in common. But Serena found us both. That's another thing. She never gave up on me, no matter what, and she won't let you go, either."

His words brought tears to Yami's eyes. They seemed to revive her, to at least partially reconcile her with a world she had felt she could no longer touch. For the first time in a while, she felt hope. With a smile, she nodded again more vigorously, and the two joined the rest of the group inside the arcade, where Yami once again listened and laughed, finding joy in the smiles of her friends.

* * * * *

"Spaghetti and meatballs?"

Lita grinned. "Yup. Considering the company, I thought it was fitting."

Yami laughed. "I'd have to agree with you there." Serena glared at her friends, but she could not stay mad for long with such delicious food in front of her. It was a remarkably short time before a considerable dent was formed in the food supply.

After one bite, Yami could see how Lita had gotten her reputation as Tokyo's best cook. Well, it was her reputation among all of Serena's friends at least — her reputation outside this little circle was quite different. But then again, Yami did not care about any opinions from outside of this circle.

"Well, Sammy was learning about mythology in class," Serena continued her story. "He really hooked on to that story about Isaac."

"You mean Icarus?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it was Isaac — the flying boy."

Yami sighed, running a hand through her hair. "_Icarus_, son of Daedalus, was the flying boy from Greek mythology. Isaac was the second son of Abraham, his only son by Sarah, in the Bible."

Serena paused, contemplating this information. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Icarus, then. Well, Sammy decided he wanted to be able to fly like Icarus, so…"

"Wait, hold on a second," Yami interrupted again. "Did he even read the end of that story?"

"What?"

"Icarus fell to his death."

"Guess he missed that part," Lita said with a snicker.

Serena shrugged. "I don't know. But he decided he wanted to fly too. So he made wings out of sticks and paper, climbed up to the roof — Mom and Dad weren't home, of course — and jumped. He flapped those wings like crazy, and then _whack!_ It was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life! Of course, he broke his leg really bad, and we had to go to the hospital. That wasn't any fun. He didn't want to fly anymore after that."

All three girls laughed at the story. Lita was the first to speak afterward. "You know, one time Ken decided he wanted to be a pilot. He got all these books about airplanes, learned how to play piloting video games, even got one of those goofy hats with the goggles that you would see pilots wear back forever and a day ago when the cockpits were open. But then I told him that I wouldn't have anything to do with him if he worked with planes, and he completely forgot about all of it, just like that. Took him weeks to find a new obsession."

"You mean it was his dream, and you made him give it up?" Serena's blue eyes were wide at the very idea of it.

"Of course not! Before that he wanted to be a firefighter, and then afterward he decided to be a rocket scientist. Once he had his heart set on being an American pop idol — _that_ was an experience!"

Yami had to crack up laughing at this. "American pop idol? What, like *NStink?"

Lita laughed at the girl's put-down of the popular American boy band. "That's a pretty good analysis, both of Ken's short — thank God for that — phase and of that band. Man, despite how hot they all are, they suck!"

"One question, though. Who's Ken?"

Lita immediately stopped laughing. There was a strange look in her eyes, one that Yami had never seen before, and the girl blushed ever so slightly and looked away, a tiny smile on her lips. "He's a friend," she said simply, and Yami left it at that. She could tell that the subject was not one to push, and since she had plenty of things she preferred not to talk about, she understood perfectly.

The conversation quickly drifted to the evils of homework and the intellectual value of video games. Yami laughed at it all, making a rare comment only to crack a joke at one friend or the other, more often Serena. The blonde would just glare then laugh, and the conversation would continue.

"Did I tell you how far I got on Sailor V yesterday?" Serena's eyes shone with excitement.

"See, I don't get that," Yami said, shaking her head. "How can you go through real battles like that, face death, watch loved ones fight for their lives, and still find meaning in a game like that?"

Serena laughed, much to Yami's surprise. "It's not about meaning. It's about fun!"

Yami laughed and shook her head. It certainly was a miracle how the girl could be a warrior for peace and love, giving up her own choice of destiny so that everyone else could retain theirs, and still be so happy every single day. _Miracle girl._

It was ten thirty before Serena left. She was gone quickly, hurrying to get home before her parents went postal. Lita cleaned up the small mess left from dinner, declining Yami's offer to help. Afterward, she stretched and yawned, grinning all the while. "Well, time for bed, I say. School tomorrow…" This last statement was followed by a stream of mumbling Yami failed to catch. "Come on. It's late."

Yami, who had been staring entranced out the window, deep in her own world of thought, did not move. "'I fear, too early: for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this night's revels and expire the term of a despised life closed in my breast by some vile forfeit of untimely death.'"

Lita shook her head, moving to place a hand on her friend's shoulder, snapping her back into the realm of reality. "Okay, lit nut… Was that one of Leonardo's quotes, by the way?"

Yami rolled her eyes. "Is he the only thing anyone cares about?"

"Uh, yeah. You see most of us can't understand a syllable Shakespeare utters, so we have to rely on the hot actors to make the movie interesting."

"Should've guessed."

Lita laughed. "Come on. Let's hit the sack before it hits us."

Yami smiled, turning away from the window. "'But He, that hath the steerage of my course, direct my sail!'"

The brunette rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Come on, freak." Yami had to laugh as she was led away from the window and the gathering storm clouds beyond it.


	10. Chapter 9: Midnight Dreary

Chapter 9: Midnight Dreary

Yami quickly scribbled the last line of the poem into her book before ripping out the page, folding it, and sliding it into her pocket. Closing the little book, she looked up in time to see Andrew walk over to join her, resting his elbows on the counter.

"Anything today?"

"No, as always."

"Just checkin'. It's my job," he said with a grin. Then he pointed to her book. "So, when are you gonna let me read that thing, anyway?"

"I thought we'd been here before."

"We have. See, this is apparently turning into a stubborn contest. I just hope you're not as stubborn as Darien is… youch!"

"I'm assuming he generally wins these contests?"

Andrew shrugged and grinned. "Depends on your maneuvering. His major disadvantage is how well I know him."

"But you don't know me that well. You've only known me for a week!"

"Yeah, but I'm getting there. You're not too complex, even with your secrets."

Yami sighed. "Well, when you have me figured out, let me in on the secret, okay?"

"Deal… as long as I can hear one of your poems." He grinned devilishly, and Yami rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She flipped open the book and held it dramatically out in front of her, as if posing for a picture. She cleared her throat before beginning. "'Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary…'"

Andrew popped the girl across the head, not hard enough to hurt but enough for the sound to be quite audible. "You liar!"

Yami laughed, closing the book again. "Maybe I'm the next Poe rather than the next Dickinson." He rolled his eyes. "Did you know 'The Raven' was meant to be a fairy tale?"

"Get out of town! You know as well as I that Edgar Allan Poe didn't write fairy tales."

"No, I'm serious. Think about it — what do all fairy tales begin with?"

Andrew shrugged. "A beautiful princess locked away in a castle?"

Yami sighed and shook her head. "What _line_?"

"Uh… 'Once upon a time.'"

"Right."

"Um, newsflash — 'The Raven' begins with 'Once upon a midnight dreary,' not 'Once upon a time.'"

Yami shook her head, smiling sadly. "That was his 'Once upon a time.' Don't you see? That was his life. The 'midnight dreary' was all he'd ever known."

Andrew paused. "You know, that makes a weird kind of sense. But… a _fairy tale_?"

"I know. It's not what sweet dreams are made of. But not all dreams are sweet."

"Ah, the profound knowledge of the skater girl."

There was a jingle at the door, and Darien soon sat down next to Yami at the counter. "Did you girls have a good time last night?" he asked, picking up the coffee Andrew passed him.

Yami smirked. "Yup. We had spaghetti and meatballs." She was suddenly glad he was not facing her as the coffee previously in his mouth went spewing out, followed by a fit of laughter.

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. I found it very amusing too."

After finishing his coffee, Darien stood up from his stool. "See you guys later. But now I'd better head to class."

"See ya. Oh, hey!" Yami quickly pulled the folded paper out of her pocket and handed it to Darien. "This is for you. By request."

"Thanks," he said, taking it with a friendly smile.

"Passing notes, you two?"

Yami laughed at Andrew's comment. "Yes, that's exactly what we're doing." Darien laughed, paid Andrew for the coffee, and left.

On his way to campus, Darien curiously unfolded the paper, his eyes traveling over the words written there in black ink. He hadn't realized he'd stopped until long after he finished reading. If nothing else could be said for her, the girl was intuitive. Her eyes, burning with passion, pain, love, inspiration, burden… always seemed to see into a person's very soul, the depths hidden away from all those who did not understand pain or loneliness and most who did. She had certainly seen right into his heart, as good as he was at hiding his feelings away from anyone and everyone. With tears in his eyes, he smiled softly, refolding the paper and slipping it into his pocket before continuing on his way.

Love so true  
Look to the sky  
The sun shines down  
Love lights your eyes  
The light of your heart  
Is brighter than day  
A flame in the dark  
It lights your way  
Never let go  
Precious hand in your grasp  
Never look back  
Forget what is past  
You hold out your heart  
For all loved to see  
For it is love  
That set your heart free  
Carefully guard  
Each precious step  
And always remember  
It's just one love you get

* * * * *

The smell of the library was oddly comforting in its familiarity, slightly akin to the way Yami felt when skateboarding. Except the library made her feel serene, while skating offered her the feeling of flying away.

Closing her eyes and drawing a deep, slow breath, the teenager basked in the atmosphere before casually browsing the bookshelves, as she had so many times before. After a few minutes, she plucked Orwell's _1984_ from its place on the shelf and dropped into a cushioned chair to read.

_To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone — to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone:_

_From the age of uniformity, from the age of solitude, from the age…_

"Happy book you got there, eh?"

Yami jumped, looking up into a grinning face staring down over her shoulder. The teenage boy looked to be her age, maybe a year younger, his red hair falling messily over his ears and forehead, barely brushing at his green eyes, which were obscured slightly by thick glasses. "Who… who are you?"

"Lukas," the boy replied, dropping into a seat angled slightly toward hers. "You?"

"Uh… Yami. Wh… what about my book?"

"I was complimenting it's… uh, optimism." He laughed at his own sarcasm.

Yami could not resist smiling, shaking her head. Holding up the book, she proclaimed, "'War is peace! Freedom is slavery! Ignorance is strength!'"

Lukas laughed again. "Are you an Orwell fan?"

"Not particularly, I guess. I love all literature."

"Well, see, everyone obsessed with literature says that, but then they shun science fiction and science fantasy. What's with that?"

"I don't shun science fiction. I've read _2001: A Space Odyssey_ and _Ender's Game_ and…"

"How about this?" He held up a book for her to see.

Yami raised an eyebrow. "_Star Wars_? There's no literary value…"

Lukas flipped the book at Yami. "Try it," he interrupted. "You might be surprised."

Yami rolled her eyes, picking up the book. "What the hell is science fantasy, anyway?"

Lukas sighed. "Science fiction, by definition, is based out of our reality. Stuff like… _The Terminator_ and _Battlefield Earth_, uh… _Forbidden Planet_! It faces moral questions that we, as an advancing civilization, face now like…"

"Technology," Yami finished for him.

"Right. How much is too much technology? _Fantasy_, on the other hand, exists in worlds separate from our own. The settings, the people, the rules are all different, and science fantasy…"

"Aliens, other planets, advanced technology — all components of science fiction but in a completely fantasized universe."

"Exactly! Get my gif?"

Yami nodded her head. "Yeah, I think so. So why do you have me reading _Star Wars_?"

"Because there's more there than meets the eye," he replied. "And I think you'd be surprised. It'll add some extra to all that philosophy you've got in that head of yours, and I'm sure it's dark enough for your tastes, Miss _1984_."

Yami sat back, stunned. She was not sure she liked how well the boy had read her. Maybe they had more in common than she thought. With a sigh, she got up to replace _1984_ before plopping back into her seat and more closely examining the book she'd been given. _Traitor_ by Matthew Stover… Flipping it open, she began to read. "'Prologue: The Embrace of Pain…' Well, well, we're one to talk about happy books, now aren't we?" Lukas grinned at her pointed look, shrugging innocently. However, as she read on, she became more and more intrigued.

The majority of the book had to do with the bird-creature Vergere's instruction of Jacen Solo. While perhaps not the virtuous role model, Yami found that the wisdom in Vergere's words was most profound. Usually, the message lay in the depths of contradictions and twisted truths. Never was a thing simply said when Vergere was the one speaking — it was always hidden behind an entanglement of obscure riddles. But more than the way in which everything was said, it was that which was _being_ said that awed Yami. The philosophy was far beyond what she could have ever guessed to be within the contents of a science fantasy novel.

_What is pain _for_? ... I say that pain is itself a god: the taskmaster of life. Pain cracks the whip, and all that lives will move. The most basic instinct of life is to retreat from pain. To hide from it. If going _here_ hurts, even a granite slug will go _over there_; to live is to be a slave to pain. To be "beyond pain" is to be dead, yes?_

Lukas watched the teenage girl's intense expression with interest. She seemed to be captivated by the book. In his personal opinion, who wouldn't be? He'd come to expect it. With a smirk and shake of his head, he flipped to the next page of _Grapes of Wrath_.

* * * * *

_Hephaestus… the name struck fear into the hearts of everyone at the palace. The threat was supposed to be gone, but the name… Hephaestus… did not lose its effect. The blacksmith's fire was a dangerous tool. The threat was not gone — it was waiting… waiting in the dark__….__ And that name…_

"Miss Tsukino!"

Serena snapped from her dream back to her classroom, sitting up straight in her chair and smiling nervously at her teacher. "Sorry, Ms. Haruna. It won't happen again."

"I'm sure it won't," Ms. Haruna said, though by the sound of her voice, she was far from convinced.

Serena rested her elbow on the desk, placing her chin in her hand. Now _she_ was beginning to have weird dreams. And Hephaestus… What was it Yami had said about Hephaestus? The blacksmith god who'd forged Achilles' armor. But there was more than that… she'd said that Hephaestus was somehow connected to her dreams and whatever danger was coming.

Serena told her friends she'd meet them at the arcade but had to run home first. Sprinting up the stairs toward her bedroom, she almost tripped over Luna, who had been on her way down. Scooping Luna up in her arms, the cat crying out in surprise, she ran into her room and quickly shut the door.

"What's wrong, Serena? And what's the rush? Next time, try to be a little more gentle, onegai."

"Luna, who's Hephaestus?"

"The Greek god of fire. What has this got to do with anyth… Wait a second…"

"What? Wait a second what? What is it, Luna?" The girl's voice was urgent. She was so wound up, she looked as though she might explode at any given moment.

"Calm down, Serena. I just remembered that… do you remember the blacksmith I told you about?"

"The one who was banished from the moon kingdom?"

"Yes, that one. He called himself Hephaestus."

"Somebody actually named their kid that? How cruel…"

"No, it was not his name, Serena. But he'd been calling himself that since he was a small child, and no one remembered what his real name was."

With a sigh, Serena sat down on the bed. "So it is him. This danger that Yami says is coming — it has to do with him, doesn't it?"

"I am not sure. But it does seem to add up."

"Do you think he's working for Beryl? I mean, could she have come back somehow? I thought she was gone for good this time."

"Such an alliance would make sense. Beryl would be able to give him the power to create his Anomaly Stone. And after all, it is the Silver Imperium Crystal that she fears and covets most. However, I do not believe she could have returned. You destroyed Queen Beryl along with Metalia and every trace of the Negaverse at D-Point. There is very little chance that she could be revived."

"Oh, hey!" Serena sprang from the bed, already heading for the door. "I've gotta get to the arcade. I told the girls that I just had to run home real quick and I'd be there soon, and Yami and Darien are probably already there waiting for me too."

"Serena, I do believe this is more serious than hanging out with your friends!" But the girl was already gone, leaving behind a very exasperated cat.

* * * * *

_I would call it _honest_….__ Life is struggle, Jacen Solo. It has always been so: an unending savage battle, red in tooth and claw. This is perhaps the greatest strength of the Yuuzhan Vong; our masters — unlike the Jedi, unlike the New Republic — never delude themselves. They never waste their energy pretending this is not so._

"Enjoying yourself over there?"

Yami looked up at Lukas, suddenly remembering where she was. "What?"

The boy grinned. "You seem to be liking that book — you know, the one with no literary value to speak of."

She did not even notice his joke, so caught up was she in the complex ideas of the novel. "It's very fascinating."

"Well, if you like that, try this on for size." He pulled another book from his bookbag, apparently from the same sub-series as _Traitor_. Flipping it open, he read, "'Those were actions of evil, they were wrong, and they had to be fought. If the Force did not draw that line and set great dark-side alarms wailing, then maybe Anakin didn't serve the Force. Or to put it more precisely, he served something more fundamental than the Force, something of which the Force was a manifestation, an emanation — a tool. Not Rapuung's gods, or any god, but some fundamental truth built into the universe at a subatomic level. In his galaxy, the Force was the servant of that truth. Wherever the Yuuzhan Vong were from, some other manifestation must prevail. But light remained light, and dark, dark.'"

Yami took the book from his hand, examining the cover before flipping through some pages. "_Edge of Victory I: Conquest_… This is before _Traitor_?"

Lukas nodded. "Yup. How'd you guess that, Miss Anti-Sci-Fi?"

"Because in _Traitor,_ this Anakin guy is already dead. Unless there are two of them."

"You're sharp," Lukas said with a laugh. "Even though, actually, there _are_ two, but the other died a long time before these take place. Haven't you even seen _Star Wars_?"

"Nope," she replied with a shrug.

"Poor deprived child! Don't your parents expose you to any culture?"

A shadow passed across Yami's face. Without answering, she held out Lukas's books for him to take. "Here. I should really be going."

He pushed the books back. "No, you keep them. Read them. What is it? Is it something I said?"

Setting down the books next to the boy's bag, Yami picked up her skateboard and the book Serena had given her before turning to go. "No, it's nothing."

Lukas quickly ran to head her off. "No, please! Just tell me what I did wrong. Did I insult you? I didn't mean it…. I'm sure you have great parents. Please don't go…" Yami stared at the floor. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"My parents are dead," she said softly, barely loud enough for him to hear. He could feel his breath catch in his throat.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. You've got nothing to be sorry for. But I really should get going. My friends'll be waiting for me."

Lukas stopped her again. "At least give me your number or something…."

"I'm staying with a friend. Even if I knew her number, I don't think I'd be comfortable giving it out to anyone without asking her."

"Well…" He thought for a moment before running back to pick up the books she'd set down. "Here, take these. You can bring them back to me here. I come every day almost."

This statement caught her attention. "Strange… How come I've never seen you before?"

He shrugged. "Do you come here often?"

Yami nodded. "All the time. I haven't been in about a week, but still…"

"Guess I just never noticed before," Lukas said with a shrug. "Will you come back?" He held out the books. His emerald eyes were so hopeful, pleading with her like a small puppy dog. "Onegai?" The word was barely whispered, and he was not sure she'd heard it.

Hesitantly taking the books, Yami nodded. "I'll come back. Now I have to go." With a relieved smile, Lukas nodded. "Ja."

"Ja ne," he said softly, and only after she was out the door did he add, "Tenshi."

* * * * *

The wind seemed to pick up as Yami walked outside, blowing at her clothes and short, sandy hair. When she was a block away. She turned to look back at the library. Strange… Why, she wondered, hadn't she seen Lukas before if, as he claimed, he was there nearly every day? She could easily make the same claim. It was odd that they'd never run into each other before.

Turning away, Yami continued down the sidewalk. It was not long before she was pushing through the arcade door, smiling at her friends, who were already all present. "Where've you been?" Andrew asked in the tone of a parent scolding a teen for coming in after curfew. The others laughed. "It is four-thirty, young lady."

"Stang! Are you serious? I must have been at the library a lot longer than I thought."

"Library?" Immediately Amy perked up, much more interested in the conversation. The others rolled their eyes.

"Where you checked out… _Star Wars _books?" Darien raised an eyebrow. Maybe it was just him, but he had not pinned the popular sci-fi series as being Yami's style.

"No, actually. My friend Lukas lent them to me."

"Ohhhh…" A devilish grin split Lita's face, both eyebrows raised. Yami knew immediately what the expression alluded to, and it took a lot of will power to suppress a sigh. "A _friend_, huh? I thought you didn't have any 'friends.'"

Yami rolled her eyes. "I met him today. And no, it's not like that. We talked about literature and philosophy the whole time — not dinner arrangements, thank you very much."

"Mm hmm, yeah." The mischievous grin refused to disappear, and Yami knew she'd just have to deal with the other girls thinking what they would about Lukas. There would be no convincing them otherwise.

Yami sat down with her friends and flipped open _Traitor_, immediately immersing herself in its reality.

"Umm… _hello_? Care to socialize a little? You need to get your nose out of that book and learn to have fun!"

Yami looked up, staring at Serena for a long moment before turning to Amy. "Do they do this to you too?"

"All the time," the blue-haired girl sighed.

"Hey! Smart kids! No ganging up here. We still outnumber you, you know."

"Umm, isn't that the same as ganging up on _us_?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.

Serena paused, thinking this over. Apparently, the idea had never occurred to her before. Finding no way around Yami's logic, she merely crossed her arms and scowled. "No! It's absolutely _not_ the same thing!"

Yami chuckled, shaking her head and returning to her book. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Darien appeared highly amused by this.

"Uh… Yami?"

"Yup?" The teenager looked up casually, but the expression on Serena's face immediately caught her eye. "What is it?"

The blonde chewed her lower lip. She knew Luna and the scouts would not approve of her bringing their new friend into senshi business, even if she already knew their secret, but perhaps the more Yami knew, the more _they_ could know the sooner. It was Yami, after all, who was their main source of information.

"Serena? What's wrong?" Yami's dark eyes were filled with worry, pure concern for her friend, and despite everything, this made Serena smile.

"Well, it's just that… I was talking to Luna earlier, and she told me that the blacksmith — you know, the one that forged the Anonymous —"

"Anomaly," Raye corrected, though Serena did not miss a beat or give any sign at all that she'd heard.

"— Stone… well, in theory, anyway — he…" She paused, her eyes flicking nervously down to the table before her. "He was called Hephaestus."

"So it is him!" Raye's violet eyes were focused far away, her attention totally consumed by this new information. She seemed to have forgotten the others were there, speaking only to herself. "I knew it…. Serena! Did Luna tell you anything else?"

The blonde shook her head. "No, nothing. Of course… I probably ran out before she got the chance to. I was kinda in a hurry to get here."

Raye sighed, rolling her eyes. "So hanging out was more important to you than the possible fate of the universe?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like a bad thing! But remember I was only rushing here to see _you_."

The argument that ensued sounded remarkably like cats clawing the crap out of each other. Sitting back in the booth, Yami listened calmly as the two went back and forth. After a few minutes, she opened her book and began reading again.

What amazed Yami more than anything else in the novel, what caught her attention like some kind of beacon to her heart, was not even Vergere's wisdom, strangely enough. Instead, it was a thought born of Jacen Solo's spirit, broken though it was. _I may not be much of a warrior, but I can die like one._


	11. Chapter 10: Hikari no Tenshi

Chapter 10: Hikari no Tenshi

"Damn! Don't tell me you're done already!"

"Yup." Yami grinned, handing the books back to their rightful owner. "You're right, I was surprised. A lot of stuff didn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense, but hey, I guess you've gotta know something about _Star Wars_ to understand everything, huh?"

Lukas laughed. "I wouldn't know. I never saw it from that point of view before."

Yami could not help chuckling. "You're really into this stuff, aren't you?"

"Hey, you read the books yourself. What's not to be interested in?"

The girl nodded acknowledgement. "I was personally stunned. I can't deny it. But still, there'll always be a special place in my heart for classic literature. I grew up on it, after all. My mother taught it to me since before I can remember."

"What's your favorite book?"

"Wow! Now there's a question. Why not step outside at night and pick out a favorite star? Well… I guess if I had to choose… I really liked _Frankenstein_."

"No way! I had to read that last semester — it was torture."

Yami nodded. "Most people think so. I didn't."

"Kind of a miserable book, don't you think?"

"Yes, absolutely. I won't pretend to deny it. But noble at times, don't you think?"

"Noble? What the heck do you mean by 'noble'?"

"Well, admirable."

Lukas laughed. "Oh yeah? Enlighten me — what am I supposed to admire about a guy who creates a monster, who, in turn, kills his creator's family and friends?"

Yami sighed. "I didn't say _everything_ in it was virtuous. It's not."

"Well, tell me. Name one 'admirable' thing."

The girl hesitated. "I don't know exactly… Perhaps the fact that, after everything, Frankenstein's creature still had goodness and love in his heart. 'I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct. I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds. My spirit will sleep in peace, or if it thinks, it will not surely think thus. Farewell.'"

"Oh, that's great," Lukas said sarcastically. "A teenage girl obsessed with death. Very promising."

"Gee, I appreciate it," Yami replied, her sarcasm easily beating his. Lukas laughed at her scowl.

"What's with that face? I was just kidding, Tenshi."

Yami was taken aback. "Wh… what did you just call me?"

Lukas froze. "Huh? Well, uh…" He cleared his throat, blushing. "Angel." Running a hand through his hair, he smiled nervously. "Hikari no Tenshi!"

The very idea of it was shocking to Yami. _Angel of light_… Could he really picture her that way? Yami averted her eyes, remembering the burden she feared to have brought down upon her friends, whatever it might be, and knew she was no 'angel of light.' "You might want to hold that thought, Lukas. I don't deserve it. I doubt I ever will."

The boy looked confused and more than a little skeptical. "Why not?"

Yami coughed, staring down at the floor. "For reasons you wouldn't understand." With that, the subject ended. No matter how much Lukas tried to press, the sandy-haired teen always managed to maneuver around his inquiries and lead the discussion in another direction. He eventually just gave up, hoping to understand later, should she ever choose to confide in him.

"'I mean, sir, in delay we waste our lights in vain, like lamps by day,'" Lukas quoted. He and Yami had found their own form of entertainment in reciting different Shakespeare plays. When they came to _Romeo and Juliet_, Lukas had jumped at the part of Mercutio, whom he saw to be the greatest asset of the play. "'Take our good meaning, for our judgment sits five times in that ere once in our five wits.'"

"'And we mean well in going to this mask; but 'tis no wit to go,'" Yami quoted Romeo. Neither used a copy of the play as a prompt — both quoted from memory.

"'Why, may one ask?'"

"'I dream'd a dream tonight.'"

"'And so did I.'"

"'Well, what was yours?'"

"'That dreamers often lie.'"

"'In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.'"

"'O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes in shape no bigger than an agate-stone on the fore-finger of an alderman, drawn with a team of little atomies athwart men's noses as they lie asleep; her wagon-spokes made of long spiders' legs, the cover of the wings of grasshoppers, the traces of the smallest spider's web, the collars of the moonshine's watery beams, her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of film, her wagoner a small grey-coated gnat, not so big as a round little worm prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid; her chariot is an empty hazel-nut made by the joiner squirrel or old grub, time out o' mind the fairies' coachmakers. And in this state she gallops night by night through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love; o'er courtiers' knees, that dream on court'sies straight, o'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees, o'er ladies' lips, who straight on kisses dream, which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues, because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are: sometime she gallops o'er a courtier's nose, and then dreams he of smelling out a suit; and sometime comes she with a tithe-pig's tail tickling a parson's nose as a' lies asleep, then dreams, he of another benefice: sometime she driveth o'er a soldier's neck, and then dreams he of cutting foreign throats, of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades, of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes, and being thus frighted swears a prayer or two and sleeps again. This is that very Mab that plats the manes of horses in the night, and bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs, which once untangled, much misfortune bodes: this is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, that presses them and learns them first to bear, making them women of good carriage: this is she — '"

"'Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace!'" The scene itself, the emotion and hidden truths behind it, held so much meaning for Yami that she began to forget it was merely a scene in a play. "'Thou talk'st of nothing.'"

"'True,'" Lukas replied, a fire and weightiness behind his eyes that suggested that he too had begun to slip from the hold of reality, "'I talk of dreams, which are the children of an idle brain, begot of nothing but vain fantasy, which is as thin of substance as the air and more inconstant than the wind, who woos even now the frozen bosom of the north, and, being anger'd, puffs away from thence, turning his face to the dew-dropping south.'"

The words sounded strange coming from Lukas. They did not fit his personality a bit. He was a dreamer, Yami could tell after knowing him a day. She, on the other hand… she had given up on dreams. So why was Lukas so enamored with Mercutio and she so captivated by the words of Romeo? Perhaps some kind of reverse psychology, she reasoned, each reaching for what they could not attain. But what matter was it all? The world did not seem quite so dark a place when Yami was with Lukas. She almost felt _normal_. The effect was similar to that which she felt when Serena was around, her happy aura brightening any life she touched. But even then Yami was reminded of what she was — even though she did not really _know_ exactly what she was or what she was destined to do. Or did she have a destiny? Fate was real, she had no doubt of that. But destiny? Some would argue that fate and destiny were one and the same, but Yami did not agree. Fate controlled people, no matter how they fought against it. Anything in contradiction to it was a vain effort. But destiny… it rang with a sort of hope and triumph, a brilliance akin to that of the sun. It seemed to Yami to be the exact opposite of fate in every way that really mattered.

"Got plans for the weekend?" Lukas broke into Yami's thoughts. She jumped, startled, but quickly readjusted to reality.

"Uh, all my friends are going to the beach tomorrow."

"Sounds fun." His voice was cheerful, but she detected a hint of disappointment in it. "What about Sunday?"

"Well, I don't… Wait a second…" A thought suddenly occurred to Yami. "Why aren't you in school?"

Lukas looked away. "I dropped out."

"_What_? But you are _so_ smart. You should be in school now. What about your future, Lukas?"

For the first time since they'd met, the boy became defensive against her. "Well, what about you?"

It was a good point. The problem was that Yami did not have a good answer for him. "M… my mom used to home-school me."

"What about now?"

"Well… ever since…" She cleared her throat. "I don't know — throwing school into the mix with everything else would just be too much."

"Everything else? Care to elaborate?"

"No."

Lukas looked away again. He seemed embarrassed, maybe a little bit guilty even. "Fair enough. I'm sorry I acted that way."

"Don't be sorry. But you really shouldn't resign yourself to the kind of life you'll have with no education. Someone who can quote Shakespeare like that" — she grinned at her friend — "is destined to do great things."

He looked up at her and saw honesty burning in her eyes. "I've never met anyone like you before," he said softly.

Yami averted her eyes, blushing. "I'll bet you don't even know how true that is."

"I mean it." He leaned forward in his seat, reaching out to lift her chin so their gazes met. "No one has ever… believed in me before."

"What about your parents?"

Lukas shrugged. "They were too wrapped up in their own lives to care. Still are. They don't even know I'm not in school anymore. Never asked. Never once looked at one of my report cards. I always had to forge their signatures on everything. But you… why do you care what happens to me?"

"Why not?" In Yami's gaze, Lukas could see that she really did care. He leaned forward, their faces hovering closer. At first, she seemed to replicate his movement, but as their lips were just a breath apart, she turned away. "I… I'm sorry…" she stuttered softly.

Lukas shook his head, raising a hand to stroke her hair before leaning back again, allotting the girl her space. "No, I should be sorry," he said, averting his eyes, his cheeks tainted pink. Yami felt guilty, but she said nothing. Never had she felt for anyone the way she did for Lukas, but it would not have been fair to him to get involved that way. She suddenly very much wanted to tell him the truth about herself. But what was the truth? She could hardly tell something she did not know.

Everything seemed to be happening so fast. Just a week before Yami had been telling Serena she had no interest in dating. Did she now? No, not really… under normal circumstances. But Lukas was so different…. Just a week and a half ago, she would have allowed herself a relationship without a second thought had she found someone who made her feel this way. But now… after everything…

"Don't be sorry, Lukas," Yami whispered after a minute of silence. "It's just… I… I can't…" She turned away, blinking back tears.

Lukas leaned forward again, covering her hand with his own. "Hey, it's okay. Whatever it is… it's all right." He reached up to stroke her cheek, a motion that both comforted and terrified her. "If you ever want to tell me, I'll understand."

Yami nodded her gratitude, swallowing hard. "Thank you," she whispered. "Maybe someday…"

Lukas nodded, squeezing her hand before releasing it. "You know," he said softly with a small grin, "we haven't gotten to _Macbeth_ yet."

* * * * *

"So, what happened to your hand?" Lukas asked, softly touching Yami's hurt knuckles.

Yami shrugged, closing _The Sun Also Rises_. "Skateboarding accident," she said casually.

"Those things are dangerous," he said, gently cradling her hand in his own. Yami laughed at the concern in his expression.

"Wanna learn?"

"_What_?"

"Hey, you two need a blanket or something?"

Lukas looked up, surprised. Yami did not recognize the young man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, standing a couple of meters away, but Lukas apparently did. As soon he saw the man, he dropped Yami's hand, standing up and taking a menacing step forward, anger evident in his face. "You get the hell out of here!"

The young man laughed. "Hey, it's a public building. I can stay if I want to."

"Well, you'd better stay damn far away from me…."

"Or what? Come and get me, Chibi."

Lukas would have done just that had not Yami sprung from her seat, grabbing hold of him to hold him back. "We'll get thrown out, Lukas. They may not let you come back."

"You stay the hell away from me, dammit," he said under his breath, "or I'll…"

"Hell, why would I want to hang with a baka like you? Your girlfriend, on the other hand…" He reached out to run a hand through Yami's hair, but she recoiled from his touch.

Lukas tried to spring forward again, but Yami held him firmly. "If you touch her, I swear…!"

"Could you _please_ lower your voices?" came a firm, irritated voice, and the three turned to see the librarian scowling at them.

"Gomen nasai," Yami said. "We'll be quiet."

"Dammit, get away from us right now!" Lukas growled, keeping his voice low so that they would not get thrown out.

The man laughed again, leaning forward toward the pair, who in turn moved back. "Be seein' ya." With that, he turned on his heel and left the library.

Lukas glared after him until long after he was gone. "Who was that?" Yami asked as the boy finally began to calm down, sitting once more.

"That was the scum of Japan," he replied. "Jemson Gezunai."

"Scum of Japan?" Lukas averted his eyes. Yami dropped to her knees in from of him, looking up to catch his gaze. "Lukas, you can tell me."

His eyes glistened. "Like you could tell me?" Yami looked away. She was surprised when he actually began to speak, to answer her question. "He raped my cousin. She was like a sister to me." Yami gasped, looking up at him. There were tears in his eyes, tears that had remained unshed for far too long and that he still did not let fall. "She never really recovered. We went to the authorities, but he wasn't convicted. All I can say is he's got some friends in high places. My cousin killed herself less than a month after the trial."

Yami could feel a tear slide down her cheek. She reached up to wrap her arms around Lukas's neck, resting her head on his shoulder, embracing him tightly. "I'm sorry…" she said softly, her voice breaking. It seemed so pitiful, the words so empty after all he had been through, but he seemed comforted nonetheless. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, a single tear finally escaped his eyes, falling down into Yami's sandy hair.

Having finally told someone seemed to have broken some kind of barrier inside. No longer able to keep the pain bottled, he began crying openly, sobs wracking his body as the tears spilled unchecked down his cheeks. Never had he had a shoulder to cry on…. He'd never known he needed one. Resting his head on top of Yami's, he allowed his emotions to reveal themselves from the deepest parts of his heart for the first time ever, and for the first time in years, he allowed himself to cry.

"Arigatou, Hikari no Tenshi."

* * * * *

The dream came again that night. The voice was there, as always, but the words did not matter so much as the voice's presence, the constant blunt pain, the cold, the fire, and the silhouetted figure standing over Yami once again. The hissing voice and the throbbing pain became more intense, and suddenly images began flashing in Yami's mind. She saw a stone. It was shaped much like an oblong crystal, with uneven edges that had no apparent pattern. It was ebony black, and the smooth surfaces glistened in the firelight.

She saw a magnificent kingdom located on the moon. She saw a beautiful princess in a white gown, with the symbol of a crescent moon on her forehead. The girl's long golden hair flowed to her ankles, and she was wrapped warmly in the arms of a handsome prince, her one true love. Yami recognized the two — they were Serena and Darien, but different. Their names were Serenity and Endymion.

She saw the dark alleyway, cold and lonely in the middle of the night. She felt that somehow something had begun that night. _Something_ had been set into motion that she was powerless to stop. Whatever had gone before that seemed like an entirely different reality, an entirely different lifetime. Maybe it was.

Then there was Sailor Moon. The warrior of justice and love stood up against evil. What evil, Yami did not know, but that did not matter particularly. But then the young soldier's expression changed to one of fear, despair, and… pain? She fell to her knees, her hands covering her heart. Her mouth was open in a scream, though Yami could not hear anything. Yami cried out for her friend, reaching out to help her in some way, any way. But they seemed to exist in different realities. Never, even if she ran a million miles, could Yami reach her friend's side. Then she had the feeling of being pulled away, as if by a vacuum. She cried out, stretching her hand toward Serena, but still the girl slipped away. Just before she was out of sight, Yami saw her collapse onto the ground, dying or already dead.

All quickly became total darkness, and Yami had the dreadful, cold feeling of being completely alone.


	12. Chapter 11: Under Lemnos

**AN: Okay, so I don't know if anyone really cares at this point.... But I'm going to be finishing up here anyway. So yeah. Next chapter.**

Chapter 11: Under Lemnos

_Just one hour, just one day, to see the ocean and feel its waves…_

The water lapped at Yami's bare feet, and a salty breeze blew from somewhere down the beach. She loved the ocean — something about the feeling of peace she got just being near it. It was a force too great for mankind to conquer. That in itself was an inadvertent triumph, and she marveled at that alone.

"Raye and I are going surfing later. Wanna come?"

Yami turned to see Lita standing next to her before shifting her gaze back out toward the horizon. "I've never surfed before."

"All the more reason to try," Lita replied with a shrug. "Heck, you're awesome on a skateboard… excluding one little incident." She elbowed Yami in the ribs, and the teen could hardly help but laugh.

"Sure, why not? Sounds like fun to me."

"Rock on!"

"Are you and Raye the only ones who surf?"

Lita nodded. "Chad usually does too, but he's got work at the shrine. You can use his board — Raye brought it along. He rides short board, like the rest of us."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, I was never much of a long boarder, but it's supposed to be more like in tune with the waves and all. But short — life on the edge, baby! Major adrenaline rush. It's kakkoii!"

Yami laughed. "Sounds like a blast to me."

The girls were interrupted by a high-pitched wailing. Turning to find the source of the noise, they saw Darien taking off for the water, Serena slung over his right shoulder. "Come on, guys! Serena and I are goin' for a swim!"

Yami was surprised that Darien did not go deaf with the way Serena was yelling in his ear, pounding on his back with her small fists. But her fit was to no avail. Soon they were in the water, which splashed high up around them, and the girl was shortly thereafter wailing about the temperature of the water. With a laugh, Yami and Lita ran to join them in the ocean, paying no mind to the cold water, and it was not long at all until Raye, Mina, and Amy were there as well, and Serena's screaming finally turned to laughter.

Yami was surprised that Darien and Amy, the two most mature people in the group, were the ones to start the water fight. This fact, though, only made it all the more fun. Soon, everyone was involved, laughing and splashing everything and everybody in sight. Everyone, that is, except Serena, who was chasing Raye for calling her an immature wuss, and Raye, who was swimming away for dear life while calling back names over her shoulder that she knew would only make Serena even madder.

It was hours, though it seemed much shorter, before the group of friends collapsed onto their towels farther up the beach. There, they lazed about, letting the sun dry them. Yami ran a hand through her wet hair, sighing as she shut her eyes and let the bright sunlight seep through her closed lids. She made a mental note to be sure to thank Lita again for loaning her the swimsuit — of course she did not have one of her own anymore, and she could hardly have gotten through the day without it.

"Hey! Who wants to go hunting for seashells?" Yami looked up to see Serena's smiling face looking to each one of her friends in turn. Already the girl was jumping to do something else. Didn't she ever run out of energy? But then, Yami already knew the answer to that question.

"I'll go!" Mina was the first to speak up. Soon the bouncing meatball head had everyone recruited to come along except for Darien, who opted to sit this one out. Yami understood — she was still exhausted from their last exertion. Had she not been so intrigued by the scouts' unlimited energy and happiness, she probably would not have gone seashell hunting either. She had no particular interest in seashells. They were fine to look at on the beach, but she had no care for collecting them.

"Look at this one! Ohhh, and that one over there!" Serena snatched up shells by the dozens. She had come well prepared, though, with a giant cup brought along for just this task. "Oh, hey, and that pretty pinkish one!" Yami laughed at her excitement.

"Not too fast, Meatball Head. You wanna leave some for the sea animals to live in, don't you?"

Serena looked up for a moment, stunned, before laughing and shaking her head. Her attention immediately returned to the task of finding shells.

Despite her disinterest in collecting shells, something half-buried in sand just inches from the waves washing over the beach caught Yami's eye. Scooping it up, she looked over it with an interest that came very close to awe. "Hey, check this out."

Amy, immediately interested in the teenager's find, took the black object from her hand. "It's a lava rock. Probably came from an underwater volcano. You should hold on to it." She handed it back to Yami, who accepted it silently.

As soon as the volcanic rock touched Yami's hand, the voice suddenly flashed in her head. _Hidden away in Lemnos, under the volcano…_ Shaking her head, Yami immediately tossed the rock aside. "No, I… I have no use for it."

Lita, who had been listening since Amy's analysis, stared at the teenager for a long moment before, with a determinedly set expression, scooping up the rock and holding it out toward Yami. Swallowing, the sandy-haired teen shook her head again. "No."

With a sigh Lita took Yami's hand and closed it around the lava rock. "Keep it. It's the only thing that's interested you at all on this beach, which means it holds something for you. You should hold on to it, like Amy said."

Drawing a slow breath, Yami nodded and dropped her hand, still holding the rock, to her side. As much as she wanted to fling it aside once more, forget about any possible reminder that existed in this world of the evil voice, she knew that Lita was right. Things would never come together if she refused to face them, and maybe it was time to start doing just that.

After another few minutes of watching Serena and the other girls collect seashells, Yami excused herself and returned to the towels where they had left all the stuff they'd brought along. Darien appeared to be sleeping, lying on his stomach with his head resting on his folded arms, eyes closed and breath steady. With a sigh, Yami fell onto her towel. Her clothes were wadded up in a pile on one end of it, and she slipped the lava rock into the pocket of her jeans before lying back to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

"Find anything interesting?"

Yami jumped at the sound of Darien's voice. She had thought he was asleep. "Volcanic rock. That was the only thing I picked up, anyway."

"Sounds cool."

"Yep. Serena will have plenty to show you when she gets back, though. She's got enough shells to house a few hundred hermit crabs."

Darien laughed. "Sounds like my Meatball Head all right!"

No more words passed between them until the others returned. Being able to hear the chattering group of girls from far down the beach, they both had plenty of time to prepare. Neither were surprised when Serena came bounding up and immediately chimed, "Lunch time!"

* * * * *

The waves were good that day — big enough to give experienced surfers a fair ride and small enough to not pummel a beginner with similar experience. Yami enjoyed the salty spray that moistened her face as she rode any such wave. Sometimes, she could catch sight of a rainbow in the mist out of the corner of her eye. But she never dared turn to look for fear of breaking her concentration and from the knowledge that the colorful mirage would disappear the instant she tried to pin it down in reality.

Yami found that learning to surf was not remarkably difficult. With her natural ability to excel at any sort of physical activity, she would have done well even were she not a skater already. Though there were several fundamental differences between surfing and skateboarding, Yami found that many of the basics were not dissimilar, and her balance was good, so surfing came fairly naturally to her.

The teenager basked in the wonderful feeling of being in tune with the world around her. As much as she always felt isolated from everything, it was like a sort of bliss for her. And like Lita had said, riding short board was quite a thrill. She never once found a dull moment.

Paddling back out to catch another wave, Yami allowed herself a moment to watch her friends. Lita was riding a pipeline, and Raye was just getting ready to catch another ride. Lita made it out just in the knick of time, just before the wave came crashing down, sending crystal drops of salty ocean water raining down on the brunette. With a smile, Yami continued on her way out. A moment later, Raye was up, riding with all the grace and skill — her characteristic determined concentration giving her a unique edge — of any professional. Yami was watching her out of the corner of her eye when it happened.

With a gasp of surprise, Raye lost her balance, plummeting into the water below. Seeing the surfboard fly high up in the air before turning to fall back to the water nose first, Yami and Lita both cried out simultaneously and quickly started toward their friend. But before either could reach the spot where she'd gone under, Raye broke the surface again, gasping for air and hacking out the water in her lungs. Clambering onto her surfboard, she began paddling for shore, still coughing.

Yami immediately set course for the bank. When she got there, everyone was already gathered around Raye, who was just catching her breath. "Ohh, are you all right? What happened?" Serena's forehead was wrinkled in concern, her hands clutched together in front of her chest.

"Take a chill pill, Meatball Head. I'm just fine."

"What happened?" Mina asked a little more calmly than her fellow blonde.

"I saw a lightning flash in the distance," the psychic girl whispered, her eyes wandering to look far out over the horizon, where the sun was beginning to dip toward the water. "A great darkness is descending on us. Something is coming — soon. I can feel it."

A silence fell upon the group. Slowly, the light faded, deepening the feeling of danger falling like the sun at that very moment, only the danger was falling toward them, targeting them like unsuspecting prey in the dark. "I think it's time to go," Darien finally said, cutting into the silence. Serena, who had made her way into his arms at some point, nodded her agreement.

Together, the seven friends made their way up the beach. With every step, they felt the deepening darkness more heavily.

* * * * *

"'Methought I saw my late espouséd saint brought to me like Alcestis from the grave, whom Jove's great son to her glad husband gave, rescued from death by force though pale and faint. Mine, as whom washed from spot of childbed taint, purification in the old law did save, and such, as yet once more I trust to have full sight of her in heaven without restraint, came vested all in white, pure as her mind. Her face was veiled, yet to my fancied sight love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shined so clear, as in no face with more delight. But O, as to embrace me she inclined, I waked, she fled, and day brought back my night.'"

Lukas cleared his throat. "Very, umm… joyful."

Yami laughed. "Milton. This was about his wife, who died giving birth. It's not supposed to be happy."

"Do you _ever _read anything that's not so… dark?"

"Do _you_?"

Lukas nodded acknowledgement to her accusation. "Granted." Yami sighed, falling into her seat next to Lukas's. "Rough day?"

"Rough few weeks."

His voice lowered. "Doesn't have anything to do with me, does it?"

Yami shook her head. "No, of course not. You've made it a lot better, actually."

Lukas offered a lopsided smile, his green eyes sparkling. "Glad to hear it." There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. "Yami?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't… have a boyfriend, do you?"

"Baka! No, what made you think that?"

"It's just that when I… you know, the other day…"

"I don't have a boyfriend, Lukas. Nor have I ever, if that makes any difference."

"I don't care about your past, Yami," he replied softly. "I only care about right now."

"I'm more concerned about tomorrow's light than today's," Yami said softly.

"You know, I've never felt so close to anyone in my entire life. And this is only the fourth day I've known you! You're like my best friend…. I can't remember what it was like before we met."

"Lukas…" Yami leaned forward in her chair so that she could catch his averted gaze. "I do care about you. But there's just so much crap in my life… I don't want you to get dragged into it."

He reached up, stroking her cheek gently. "I'm already into it." It wasn't until then that she realized how close their faces had grown over the past minute. Yami found her eyes caught by Lukas's gaze. So mature already at such a young age… But then, she was not really one to talk, was she? Slowly, they drew closer. Lukas leaned in, much like he had before. She could almost taste his breath, he was so close to her.

With small tears in the corners of her eyes, Yami lifted a hand to Lukas's shoulder, stopping him again when they were only a breath apart. "Please…" she whispered, her eyes filled with sorrow and an ever-present fear of the future, a future she did not want him to have to see. The boy froze but did not back away. Their lips hovered just millimeters apart for… Yami could not have guessed how long. Slowly, after what seemed like an eternity of swirling emotions and screaming caution that always held her back from taking that decisive step, Lukas lifted his face to gently kiss her forehead, his nose brushing at her soft bangs, before he leaned back in his own seat.

"'To my fancied sight love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shined so clear, as in no face with more delight,'" he whispered, unsure of whether she could hear it or not. Yami swallowed, closing her eyes against reality for a long moment.

"Gomen nasai, Lukas," she said, her voice breaking. "I have to go." Quickly, she rose, grabbing her skateboard, and was already several steps toward the door before Lukas sprang up to intercept her.

"Stay! Please! Onegai, Tenshi…"

Tears filled the teenager's eyes as she looked back at this boy she thought she might be falling in love with. "Please don't call me that…. I haven't earned it. I don't even know if I can…."

"But you _have_. Don't you see? You are my angel. Before you, there was nothing." Lukas paused, his breath catching in his throat. "I love you," he finished softly.

At his words, something inside of Yami broke. "I have to go…" she sobbed before pushing past him and running out of the library. She stopped only when she was several blocks and corners away, alone in an empty alley. Sliding down the wall, she felt the tears slipping silently down her cheeks but made no move to wipe them away.

Opening her book, she began to write.

Hikari no Tenshi  
Is the light a lie?  
Can love be true  
Under so dark a sky?  
One more step  
To over the edge  
Follow me not  
Oh, black-hearted wretch  
They fall to the dark  
Into the abyss  
My only true loves  
Friends not of a wish  
Friendship of love  
On my fault will fail  
I see the dark fall  
I hear innocence wail  
The future draws near  
Oh, Fate, chase me not  
Destiny, come forth  
And save those you sought  
I give my heart  
To love only light  
But stay back, love me not  
For I bring only blight

With an agonized cry, Yami dropped her head into her hands. Taking a deep breath, she finally pushed back the tears, rising to her feet with a set determination. Forcing one foot in front of the other, she by some miracle made it all the way to the arcade, where she was certain to find her friends.

When Yami was just about to enter, the arcade door opened, and Serena came flying out. The two collided, and it took Yami a moment to realize she was on the ground. When she finally got her bearings back, she could not help but start laughing. "For some reason, I feel like we've been here before."

Serena looked up, silent for a stunned moment as she realized who she'd run into before jumping up happily and reaching down to help her friend up. "Yami! Where have you been? Hanging out with your boyfriend this entire time?"

"Uh…"

"We were gonna head over to the park. Wanna come?"

It was then that Yami saw the others gathered behind Serena, some still softly snickering about the collision. Lita made no attempt to hide her grin at the mention of Yami's "boyfriend."

"Uh… sure, I'd love to come. Iko." Running a hand through her hair, she stooped to pick up her skateboard and the book Serena had given her, which had ended up scattered on the sidewalk. She froze as she saw the lava rock she had found the day before lying a few inches from her fingers. It must have fallen out of her pocket when she'd run into Serena. Swallowing, she forced her hand to reach out and pick it up, slipping it back into her pocket before straightening and smiling at her friends. "Well, come on."

A wind blew past the group as they walked down one of the many paths in the park, rustling leaves and blowing at hair. Normally Yami would have enjoyed it, but something about this wind nearly made her stop dead in her tracks. It was… cold somehow, but she knew the feeling had nothing to do with the temperature. Seeming to replicate the feeling Yami had in her gut, Raye froze. The others stopped as soon as they realized that Yami and Raye were no longer following.

"Something's wrong," Yami whispered, her eyes slowly traveling over everything around them, though she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever it was, it was invisible to her eyes.

"What is it?" Mina asked as she and the others approached the two.

Raye did not look at any of her friends. Instead, her eyes were traveling around, searching for something, anything, that could have caused the disturbance she felt. "I sense…"

The psychic girl was interrupted, however, as a searing wind blasted them all. The sky immediately blackened, and their cries were silenced as threatening lightning slashed through the sky.


	13. Chapter 12: When Dreaming Ends

Chapter 12: When Dreaming Ends

Wretch, what thou art O might'st thou never know!

- Sophocles' _Oedipus Rex_

The wind howled through the trees, tearing at clothes and skin. Yami cried out, searching the dark for whatever could be causing the disturbance. Somehow, through the wind and blackness, she noticed Serena and the other scouts raise their henshin, each crying out those direly important words that could save them all.

It was then that she heard the evil laughter that made her blood run cold. It dominated over everything, clearly audible over even the wind. Yami saw out of the corner of her eye that Tuxedo Mask and the Sailor Scouts were looking around frantically for whoever was laughing, but Yami knew. She waited patiently for Hephaestus to show himself.

"Welcome, Princess," that familiar voice rapped out in a sickeningly joyous tone. It was then that Yami's head began throbbing. She heard Serena gasp over to her left and felt a sudden dread grip her heart. The laughter returned again. "You feel it, don't you? The power of the crystal is nothing against my creation."

"Who the hell are you?" Yami screamed, trying to push back the pain behind her forehead.

"Who am I? Dear child, I believe the question you really want answered is: _who are you_?"

The pain stabbed into her skull like a wedge driven deep by a sledgehammer, right between her eyes. She shrieked, but her cries were suddenly silenced when she heard Serena screaming nearby. "No… Leave her alone!"

All of a sudden, the pain stopped, and Yami heard Serena gasping for breath just meters away. Spinning around to make sure that her friend was all right, she saw Sailor Moon doubled over with a hand over her chest. Slowly, the warrior straightened, a determined look upon her face. Yami breathed a sigh of relief.

"Show yourself!" Raye said forcefully, anger etched clearly on her face.

"Yeah!" Lita took a step forward, her fist raised. "If you're so tough, come down here and fight us!"

"Be calm, daughter of Jove," came Hephaestus's response.

"That's Jupiter to you, punk!"

The laughter again. "I have no interest in you, _Jupiter_." The word was dripping with distain, which served well to make the green-clad warrior even angrier. "It is your beautiful moon princess I want."

"What do you want with her?" Yami screamed at the faceless voice.

"You should know." Suddenly, a man materialized standing on a thick tree branch high in the air, where he could be sure to look down on his foes. He was dressed in all black, matching his hair. At one side he carried a sheathed sword. On his forehead was the symbol of a crescent moon. "Don't play dumb with me, child. I know you are smarter than that. I _would_ know, wouldn't I?"

"What are you talking about?" Though she struggled to keep her voice under control, the teen knew without a doubt that she was doing a terrible job of it.

"Do you not know yet? I am disappointed in you, Yami."

A chill ran down the teenager's spine. "How do you know my name?" Her voice was quiet, but she knew he could hear her.

"I know everything about you. Unfortunately, you remember nothing about me."

"I know you," she replied quickly. "You're in my dream."

"Dream, dear child? What dream?"

"The one I've been having my entire life! I thought you knew everything about me!"

"No, child. Your entire life has been the dream. I am your reality."

"Cut it out!" Serena shouted. "Why don't you just tell us what the hey you're talking about already, 'cause it's obvious we don't know!"

"Silence, girl!" Hephaestus snapped. "You have been the cause of enough wrongdoing already! Unless you want to drop dead where you are… which I can easily arrange… I suggest you simply exercise a bit of patience for a change."

"Where is the Anomaly Stone?" Amy called up to the figure standing in the tree. "We know that you forged it. How is it that you've been using it against Sailor Moon?"

"The stone has been in your presence all along," he replied carelessly. "You have just been too short-sighted to see it."

"What are you talking about?" Mina cried, getting frustrated along with everyone else. She was answered by a sudden shriek from Yami and a simultaneous cry from Serena. Then both went silent, gasping for breath.

"What the hell are you doing to us?" Yami yelled up at the man.

"Doing? All I'm doing right now is blocking the powers that you retain."

"_What_?"

"The stone works on its own, child. I do not make it work. Right now I am blocking its powers for your benefit, so that you may be acquitted of your ignorance."

"What do you mean 'that _I _retain'?"

Hephaestus disappeared from the tree, reappearing right in front of Yami. He placed one finger on her forehead, his dark eyes burning into hers. "Here, my child. The darkness was inside of you all along. You are your friends' enemy."

"No! You liar!"

"I am many things that the world would consider evil. A liar is one thing I am not."

"Who am I?" Yami sobbed. "Just tell me!"

Hephaestus pushed the girl's forehead with his forefinger — just a nudge, but it sent her hurtling backward. She crashed into Lita and Raye, sending all three of them crashing to the ground. "Dammit, tell me who I am!"

"You were created to bring about the downfall of the royal family. You will be the death of your precious Sailor Moon."

"No! That's not true!" Yami screamed, rising defiantly to her feet.

"I already told you I am not a liar. You know I speak only the truth. Why do you refuse to accept it?" An agonized sob escaped Yami's lips. Hephaestus ignored it. "The Anomaly Stone has been inside you all along." She raised a hand to lightly touch her forehead. "Yes. Very good, child."

"But what _am_ I?" Her voice was soft, quite a contrast from moments before.

"As said in Genesis, 'the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.' You are my creation."

"_What_? No! That's impossible! I know where I come from."

"Where are your parents?" Yami hesitated, and Hephaestus smiled in triumph. "Your past is a lie. Everything you remember is merely an image I created to make you believe you are a normal human being."

Tears began to snake down the girl's face as she felt her world crashing around her. "Then the dreams…"

"The dreams are real. Because I could not entirely erase your real memories, I had you believe they were childhood dreams. You are not of this world, Yami." She felt herself shiver merely contemplating his words, though she knew they were true. They explained everything that had happened to her. They also explained her feelings of isolation as well as her dreams and headaches. Everything he said was indeed the truth.

"Why?" The word was whispered, utterly inaudible over the wind, but Hephaestus heard it clearly.

The man laughed. It was strange — one would expect such a villain's laugh to be a maniacal cackle, but his was not. It was evil nonetheless… with more power to send chills down one's spine than any such cackle. "Why? You already know why. You were the best way to get to the princess. By placing you in this world, you were bound to encounter the warrior Sailor Moon sooner or later. The power of the stone works anywhere in the vicinity of the Silver Imperium Crystal. But I never expected you to befriend the girl. Well done."

Yami could not stop the sobs wracking her body or the tears that poured freely down her face. All this time, she'd been anticipating some sort of danger that she was fated to bring down upon her friends. And all this time, she _was_ the danger she feared. She truly was the enemy, fated to bring about the death of the one person she held most dear. She had become a slave to fate — no, she was born one. No other purpose existed for her. The evil she dreaded was in her own mind.

Lita stepped forward, her eyes burning with hatred. "If you want a fight, then come on and fight us! You won't get to Sailor Moon unless you go through me!"

"That goes for all of us!" Raye piped in, stepping up beside Lita. Amy and Mina quickly joined them, and Darien stood protectively in front of Serena. But Yami knew it was no use.

Hephaestus laughed again. "I do not need to go through you to get to the princess." In emphasis of his words, Yami and Serena both cried out simultaneously. The others gasped, a feeling of utter helplessness washing over them like an icy wave.

The cries stopped again. It was then that Amy realized that they still had time before Hephaestus allowed the power of his evil invention to truly take hold. Taking advantage of the situation, she decided to gather as much information about their enemy as possible. "You're one of the people of the moon?" was her first inquiry. An easy place to start from and work her way forward.

"I am the last of my kind, now that Serenity is a mere human."

"Then you served the royal family in the Silver Millennium?"

"I gave them my service, the likes of which they could find in no other, and in turn they betrayed me. I am here to exact my revenge."

"But Sailor Moon didn't do that," Mina said quickly. "Like you said, she's just a human being. The princess was her past life."

"Sailor Moon, Serenity — they are both the same. I came to avenge the wrongs done me. When I was banished from the moon kingdom, I lost practically all my powers. But I have spent the years drawing dark forces around myself, and now I am more powerful than any of you. My Anomaly Stone will be sufficient to do away with your princess."

"But the Anomaly Stone doesn't kill Sailor Moon," Amy countered.

"It weakens her so that the task of killing her could be fulfilled by a toddler. Given enough time and power, it could kill her, but that should be unnecessary. You cannot hope for your measly powers to compete with my black magics. Princess Serenity will die at my hands, and no act on your part can prevent that. You have your new friend to thank for that." Yami cried out at his words, falling to her knees. "No use wailing, child. Crying is for infants, and you are far too mature for such a thing."

"Hey, you can't just pick on Sailor Moon like this!" Lita vented, pointing an accusing finger at the man's face. "You're just a bully with a few magic tricks!"

"And you're just a child with too much power. Your time will come, Jupiter, but I care nothing for what happens to you. I am here only for Sailor Moon."

"Will everyone stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Serena shouted, startling everyone. "You want me? Come get me! I'm ready to fight you!"

"Do you still not understand, girl? I do not need to fight you."

A subtle throbbing arose in Yami's head, and she immediately pushed it back with all her will. "No! This is about me. I can't let Sailor Moon die for my fault."

"Foolish child." Hephaestus shook his head as if disappointed in her. "This is _not_ about you. It never was. You are merely a tool. You are not of this world or any other. Your one purpose is to serve my will. You are a slave to the power inside of you. Nothing more. Once Sailor Moon is dead, you are quite dispensable. Live out your life as if you were human if that is your wish. Once your purpose is fulfilled, I do not care what happens to you. So long as you do fulfill this one purpose."

Yami shook her head violently. "Iie!"

"You have no choice." With these words, the pain returned. Yami shrieked, pressing her hands against her head. With only one conscious thought, the set determination that her fate was not that which her… _creator…_ described, she turned and ran. Stumbling over her feet, she ran blindly as fast and as far as she could. With a grateful sob, she felt the pain gradually subsiding the farther she got, which meant that Serena would be recovering too. As the pain grew less and less, she began once again to grasp the world around her, allowing her to stumble less and actually maintain a direction.

Eventually, the headache disappeared completely, and Yami collapsed, sobbing — despite the fact that she could barely breathe after her exertion — until she finally passed out.

* * * * *

"Here I will leave you, Princess Serenity," the hissing voice still echoed in the ears of Darien and all the scouts. "Know this — your end draws near, as unstoppable as the winds of a storm." Just moments after the sorcerer had disappeared, his artificial night and the violent wind vanished also. Immediately the sky was once again a joyful blue, the sun shining brightly in the sky.

Frozen in fear, Serena could barely breathe for several long moments before she finally broke down in tears. Darien moved to embrace her as the others attempted to recover from their stunned states. "What are we going to do?" Serena cried. "He's going to kill me and Yami with that thing, and we can't stop him!"

"Get a grip, Sailor Moon!" No one was surprised that it was Raye who was reprimanding her. "There's always a way to victory. We just need to figure this out."

"Guys, we've gotta find Yami," Lita said, concern evident in her features. "She doesn't need to be out there by herself right now." The others nodded their agreement, transforming back into their normal selves before setting off in search of their friend.

* * * * *

Yami could feel every joint and muscle in her body aching. She awoke with a groan, attempting to put together some coherent thought through the pounding in her head. There was a strange, coppery smell in her nostrils. She recognized the smell — blood. Reaching up, she found a stream of drying blood that had run down from her nose.

"Yami!" The teen shook her head to clear her vision and looked up at her friends, who were all gathering above her.

Rocketing to her feet, Yami felt a sudden wave of dizziness and immediately fell back to her knees. "Wha… what are you doing here? Get away from me!" She jumped up again and tried to run, but instead she fell again with a cry, feeling the impact of pavement against her hands as they broke her fall.

"No, wait!" Serena rushed to her side, reaching out to put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We can help you. Please, together we can work everything out…."

"Iie!" Yami shook her head, pulling away. "You don't understand…. I…" She raised a hand to touch her forehead, and immediately her shaky composition broke down into wracking sobs.

"Look, her nose was bleeding." Amy knelt down in front of the sandy-haired teen. "It has to be from whatever the Anomaly Stone was doing inside her head. Yami… your hands, knees, and feet are all cut up, too. That must have been quite a run you had."

"So the Anomaly Stone was in your head the entire time?" Mina shook her head, trying to comprehend the idea.

"The dreams…" Raye said solemnly. "I knew there was something wrong about the dreams. And they weren't dreams at all."

"That's enough, you guys!" Lita rapped firmly. "This isn't the time or place. Come on, Yami. Let's get home. We'll work through all this shit later." Slowly, Yami nodded her head and allowed Serena and Lita to support her as she stood and began walking unsteadily in the direction of Lita's apartment.


End file.
